"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Have you noticed that in this parable that both houses - the one built on sand and the one built on rock - were savaged by storms. Just because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, and have been saved, does not mean I am now immune from the rough and tumble of life. Indeed, quite the contrary - no tree grows strong without being buffeted by the wind. The storms of life will enable us to better appreciate the rock – Jesus Christ – in whom we must rest at all times; and in particular in the times of trouble. We need to be able to say from the heart: “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” How often do I attempt to ride out the storm on my own strength and fall deeper into the miry clay. We have a strong foundation – we need to rest on it, not our own week sandy foundation.