1 Peter 2:5 (CSB)
You yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Are you exhausted just from living life in this world?
If so, the foundation of your exhaustion might be found in the location where you choose to draw your strength. Your sin nature tends to drift towards self-reliance and not towards Kingdom dependence. The problem here is that self-reliance will eventually crush you. When you are relying on yourself, your own power, and your own wit to control everything and navigate your life circumstances, then it’s inevitable that you're going to be striving. When you're striving, you're living a life that is filled with stress, fear, and worry.
The opposite of striving is abiding.
Jesus said in John 15:5 (ESV), “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” When we're abiding, we're at peace. Our main focus is just staying connected to Jesus, and His life-giving, strengthening, guiding, and all-sustaining Kingdom power will flow through us. He will do the leading, guiding, protecting, and providing. Because that is what our King does for those living under His Kingdom rule.
You must be careful not to drift away from this truth. When I was 11 years old, I made a profession of faith, and for the first 10 years of my Christian life, it was like living on a floaty on the open sea. As long as all of life's circumstances were good, the sun was shining, and the wind was calm, life was good. But when the storms hit, it was frightening, and my faith would unravel in the face of the storm.
Jesus said if we not only listen to His words but put them into practice, we won't experience the anxiety of self-reliance during the storms of life. He put it like this in Matthew 7:24–25 (CSB), “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.” The rock represents the stability that comes from living under and obeying Jesus' Kingdom rule.
The person who is self-reliant is illustrated in the following verses when Jesus says, “But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.” (v. 26–27)
The person who hears the teachings of Jesus but decides not to put them into practice, is choosing not to live under Jesus' Kingdom rule. They're like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand, and when the storms of life hit, they lack stability and collapse under the stress and pressure of the storms of life.
Life in this world can be overwhelming and exhausting, especially when you go at it in your own strength, relying on your own power. It's a natural thing to drift into self-reliance because the message of the world is: "Rely on yourself. You're the captain of your own ship. Live your best life now." But this mindset typically leads to a path filled with struggle, stress, fear, and anxiety. The secret to Kingdom living lies in the embrace of abiding in King Jesus, who is offering you a life of support, guidance, strength, and stability.
So, dear reader, be careful not to build your house on the shifting sands of this world. But evaluate your life today and make sure you're aligning your life with the teachings of Jesus and acting on them as a means of constructing your life on a solid, immovable Kingdom foundation.
The storms of this life are inevitable, but the teachings of Jesus are rock-solid and unmovable.
Be like the wise builder, steadfast and filled with Kingdom grit, embracing your Kingdom purpose in this world. In doing so, you will live a life that is abiding in Christ, filled with the fullness of God, and capable of facing the storm this life will send you. Peace, stability, and fortitude are yours for the taking in the Kingdom. So keep pressing on, keep digging in, keep placing one stone upon another, and keep building on the strong foundation of King Jesus.
1 Corinthians 3:11 (CSB)
For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.