Sand Castle Lives

Once a year our local beach holds a sand-sculpting contest. I stand in awe as I watch these people using just sand, a shovel and their hands, to make a work of art from only what nature supplies. In the evening as everyone begins leaving, I am always left with a melancholy feeling, knowing that as the tide comes in, all this beauty will be washed away. Many times it has caused me to ponder, “Is this what I do with my life? Are my hopes, dreams, fears and trust built on a foundation made of sand?”

As a young child I loved building sand castles. Even today, though my kids are grown, I love to sit in the warm sun, run my hands through the cool sand and let my imagination create the castle, draw bridge and even the moat. As I became older I realized I would need to start building the castle further away from the shoreline. Unfortunately, that requires sand that is wet so it can hold together, and that means building close to the shore. Such is the catch-22 of a sand castle builder.

I used to watch my daughters as they built their little sand castles, working so hard and fervently, knowing all the while that it was only a matter of time before their hearts were going to break. Sure enough, within a couple of hours the tide would start coming in. At first it would just lap the outside of their castle, just barely touching it. Then within minutes, the water would start hitting the side of their creation.

Almost immediately the walls would start collapsing and their cries followed immediately. I would run to them with a pail and try with everything in me to help save their castle. The harder we worked at scooping the water out, the faster it seemed to fill. It wouldn’t be long before we would have to stand back and watch as their little construction was washed away back into the sea.

Weak and solid foundations

I had to think, “Isn’t that a picture of how my life was?” Whether we recognize it or not, we all build our foundations on something. Some choose money as their foundation, while others might choose food, shopping, or their own self to put their trust and security in. For me it was the latter.

I would place all my trust in the Lord – up to a certain point. As long as things were going well, He had one hundred percent of me. It was when the tides started coming into my life that I felt I had to step in. I was a picture of my daughters, in their frantic attempt to save their castle. I would run around anxiously trying to save the walls of my life from collapsing. But in the end just like the sand castle, I couldn’t save myself.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been washed away by the tide of circumstance in my life. It was only in hitting the bottom and hearing the Lord tell me that He couldn’t use sand castle builders, that I started to understand what I was doing.

Christ the solid rock

You see, sand castle followers are ones that crumble and fall apart as a result of life’s presses. If we have put our faith, trust and hope in anything other than Christ, we will trip over ourselves every time. Only the Rock, that is Christ, will endure the obstacles that chisel away at our lives.

It is Christ who will be there for us – strong and steady – when life knocks, collides, or runs us over. He is there when all others have fled. He is there when all money is gone, when all hope is lost, when we are left collapsed in the chaos we have created. He will support us when friends and family don’t.

Without God at the center of our lives, pressure from the outside soon becomes greater than power from within. We then become easy prey for the enemies of life – stress, anxiety, illness, fatigue, and other countless numbers of destroyers. Those who devote their lives to achievements, causes or possessions have built their foundations on things that are limited and changeable. The possessions that we work so hard to obtain will all erode away, as the tides of life flow in and out.

A building is only as solid as its foundation. The foundation of our lives has to be Jesus Christ; He is our base, our reason for living. Today we must ask ourselves, what foundation are we building our lives on? Are we building it on the only real and lasting foundation, or are we building our foundation on defective things such as wealth, success and fame? When the tides roll in and out of our lives, what will be left standing?

1 Corinthians 3:11-13 says, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.”

What about you? Have the pressures and demands of life washed you down? Have you been building your foundation on something other than Jesus Christ? If so, He knows and He graciously holds out open arms to receive you again. Why not pray this simple prayer and by faith ask Him take over the reins of your life? In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Lord Jesus, I need You. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You by directing my own life. Father, I thank You for forgiving my sins through Jesus’ death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I pray this in the name of Jesus. As an expression of my faith, I thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, we would love to hear about it!

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