Have you ever had the joy of building up a sand castle? Building a sand castle is not as easy as it seem to be. Ask the professionals and you will find yourself being bombarded with complicated formulas and equations (S = M x sand + N x water) that must be adhered to build and sustain this delicate structure against the forces of nature. Personally, we may have built sand castles by the beach and we have been building sand castles in our lives.

Sand Castles built by the sands of enjoyment, sands of success, sands of ignorance, sands of pride, and the list goes on.

Have you ever thought that the basic formula to build a sand castle comprises from 2 basic substances? Sand and water that comes in abundance. Let me remind you, any sand castles that were ever build could not withstand the rain and the wind. It crumbles and falls apart when the storm hits the bay of the beach. Rumbling waves, slaps hard upon the beach and all the hard effort of building the sand castles will be in vain. So then, what’s more worthwhile? Investing our time in things that does not last or Investing our time things that matters and last for eternity?

“...everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash.” – Matthew 7:26-27

There is a constant struggle between Reality and Spirituality, Rock and Sand, Contentment and Discontentment. What we want may not be what God wants us to be. We strive and struggle to go against Him and building our individual sand castles that will not last.

Let us learn to live to the remarkable words of the Apostle Paul;

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do anything through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:12-13

Let us build castles with and on THE ROCK that will last forever and ever.

From Duck to Swan
Signing out at 11:07pm at 23^rd April 2007

Do you ever wonder why we often face trials and difficulties in our life? Not a single man is able to escape from the plague of problems and worries. None can ever say that everything is smooth sailing, I am perfectly happy with my life. The poor has their worries and the rich has theirs too. If you disagree with me that none is able to escape from this plague, then I invite you to reason it out with me.

The journey of life is characterized by the ups and downs that we face. Some may have more ups and some may have more downs but nevertheless they are still in the same category. The question is this; how do we react or respond whenever we face difficulties in life? We basically have two options to it, either to take it positively or negatively. Let me recommend to you a third option.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

Pure joy!? Are you telling me to be joyful without any ill feelings whenever I face trials in life? Come on, if you are in my shoes you wouldn’t be telling me this. Yes! Pure Joy! It is something hard to grasp whenever we are in the perils of the raging storm but let me remind you again, that our Captain is in-charge and this SHIP that we are on can never sink!

The Apostle Paul sums it up in 2 Corinthians;

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweights them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Sometimes we fail to see what’s more worthwhile when we are in the midst of the storm. Whenever everything fails, turn to Jesus. He’s there. I know He’s there. Fix our eyes on Jesus He’s the author and the perfecter of our faith.

From Duck to Swan
Signing out at 9.11pm – 4^th April 2007