Divine Demolition
By Karen D’Amore
“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock.”
Matthew 7:24 (MSG)
Numerous homes were still under construction in our new Las Vegas subdivision. Weeks away from completion, the foundation of one of the homes began to buckle. When futile attempts failed to salvage the buckling foundation, the new home imploded. Following a thorough investigation, a survey of the land revealed the home was built on sinking sand.By Karen D’Amore
“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock.”
Matthew 7:24 (MSG)
My old life bore strong resemblances to that home built on a sinking foundation. Turning my back on God, I built my life on the temporary, extravagant foundations of this world: the sinking sand of materialism, the shallow sand of pleasure and the shifting sand of popularity and power. Living the “American dream,” my diamond-studded walls eventually collapsed and my self-indulgent heart grew weary.
Unresponsive to God’s firm, but gentle, nudges to draw me back to Him, He lovingly “imploded” my world. My nature to control and manipulate was so strong, it took a catastrophic event to wake me up and get my undivided attention. God’s “Divine Demolition” got more then my attention…He got my surrendered heart.
Standing alongside my police car, headlights accelerated in my direction. The drunk driver never hit his brakes before striking my police car and shattering my body. In a modern day “Damascus-Road” experience, an angel of light appeared in the form of a silhouette. God’s miraculous intervention spared me from death and humbled my rebellious heart.
Despite my deplorable lifestyle and the corruption of my sin-hardened heart, God faithfully pursued me with His unfailing, unconditional love. Relentless, He knocked at the door to my heart, until I finally relinquished control of the key. As my new interior re-designer, Jesus replaced my spiritually-defective heart with His heart, and is transforming me from the inside…out. Taking up residency in my life, He didn’t just remodel my old life by patching up the weak spots or plastering over the cracks…He gave me a new life. A new life constructed by the Master Carpenter and built on the “Solid Rock.”
It’s an important question today: Is the foundation of your “home” in need of “Divine Demolition”?
GOING DEEPER:
1. What quality of materials are you using to build your life?
2. If you haven’t, what would it take for you to allow Jesus to take up residency—without restraint?
FURTHER READING:
Ezekiel 36:26-28; Psalm 51:10; Jeremiah 24:7
Married to husband Dan, Karen manages Intrigue Salon & Spa, is the administrator for Oakwood’s Tuesday a.m. Bible Study, and co-leads a freshman girls’ small group.
