Posted by Rodetta Cook

Rodetta Cook has been a pastor’s wife for over 40 years. She and her husband, Ron, have actively served the Lord together in ministry during the entire time and are co-founders of Care for Pastors. She understands the expectations, loneliness and how hard it is to find balance in ministry as a pastor’s wife. Rodetta also leads the pastor’s wives initiative at Care for Pastors called The Confidante and ministers to hundreds of wives each week. She strives to share blogs with other pastors’ wives that will help them in their ministry walk.

Posted by Rodetta Cook

Topics: Balance · For Pastors' Wives · Spiritual Walk

God’s Perspective While Strolling by the Sea (Part 3)

Monday, December 23, 2019

Today is the last day of our blog “God’s Perspective While Strolling by the Sea,” and it is a great way to end this 3-part series.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV) ²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But 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. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When you stroll on the beach by the sea you need to keep your eyes scanning the area that your feet are walking on while maintaining a view of your journey ahead. Why is this important? The activity of a day at the beach especially for small children is the fun of building sandcastles. There are those that are quickly built up with hands as shovels and plastic cups as sand forming tools. There are those that have been built by plastic buckets in the shape of turrets and castle walls, complete with moats for the water to rush in and around. Then there are those during seasons of professional sandcastle builders during beach festival times that loom large over the beach that require one to stand back and gaze with wonder at the intricacies in the details.

But whether built by a three-year-old, a family of five or a professional sand builder, they all have one thing in common. At the end of the day or at the close of the season they will fall to the wind and rain and weather. Not one will stand the test of time. They will be enjoyed for a season, some longer than others but just a season.

I love to stroll and see these creations, but I am always reminded they will stand only as temporary structures and will not remain past the next day’s stroll along the same seaside beach.

What do I learn and gather from this as I stroll past them?

We must be careful and mindful what we build our lives on and what we use to build with.

Just as these verses above remind and instruct us of the importance of building on the right foundation, we must begin as well with Jesus. From our waking moment to our ending thoughts at night we have built a day. Will what we have done last? Stand the test of time? Be washed away at the first sign of trouble or doubt or objection?

As we go into 2020 with a fresh calendar of ministry opportunities, relationships, learning environments, let us walk with our eyes set on building our days on a firm foundation. Not one of sand that will wash away. Be firm in Jesus. Be firm in purpose. Be firm in faithful living.

— Patti

I pray what Patti shared with us today will be a reminder that we don’t get so caught up in the doing of ministry that we forget to be still and allow God to renew our hearts each day and our foundation is firm in Him.