1 Peter 5:10-11

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells a story about a couple different people. The first is a man who built his house on a big rock. The second is a man who built his house on the sand. After building their respective houses, a hurricane rolled in and “beat upon” the house. Driving rain, severe flooding, and heavy winds all relentlessly pounded on the houses. As the storm cleared, the damage left in its wake was startling. While the house that was founded on the rock still stood strong, the house that had been built in the sand had been devastated. Pillars had been toppled, the roof was missing, everything inside of the house including the owner had perished. So what made the difference? It was, according to verse 25, that “it was founded upon a rock.” The word here literally meaning that it had a solid foundation. It was settled and secure. It was firmly established on something that was immovable and unshakeable. It was fixed and fastened to something that would not be affected by passing tides or fleeting droplets of rain. Wind could not unsettle this house, for it was resting secured to the rock. 1 Peter 5:10 tells us of a rock that we can fasten ourselves to that will be able to “establish, strengthen, and settle(same word as “founded” Mt. 7:25)” us. That Rock according to Peter is our great and powerful God. No passing storm can shake Him. No amount of circumstance can catch Him off guard. No heart-aching tragedy can unsettle Him. No, rather, when we are affixed to Him and trusting fully in Him, the storms of life and the problems we face only tend to strengthen our trust and reliance in Him. He is a Rock that we can be settled on. Heartache and tragedy cannot unsettle us, rather they only serve to further fasten our trust and hope in Him.

Food For Thought: What word that Matthew uses as “founded” is used in 1 Peter 5? What are we “founded” on that makes us secure through trials and testings?