Luke 6:46-49

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."
Luke 6:46-49


The first verse in this selection, by itself, is very thought-provoking. Why do we call on the Lord, ask for his advice and help, and then not accept it when it is offered to us? Sometimes I think we get the crazy notion in our heads that talking to God is like magic, and that he's going to wave his magic wand and solve everything without any effort on our parts at all. And not that he probably couldn't... but that isn't usually the way that he works. Lasting change doesn't come through magic, but through us making different choices and investing the time necessary to change ourselves. Just like we have to follow up most times we ask for a doctor's help, we also have to follow the Lord's instructions if we want to be Spiritually well.
The next few verses are a great illustration of how God's help sustains us in times of need. As we learn to incorporate God's advice into our lives, our foundation of faith and peace and endurance (and so much more) grows stronger, and we're changed enough that we can weather the storms of life. God doesn't knock down the house on us because he's mad that we're not listening. :) Just... if we don't follow God's advice, we won't be as strong as we need to be to make it through the tough times. Today, let's accept God's help, and strengthen ourselves so we can weather the storms of life.