Sandcastle For Sale

There are times when it feels like strengthening my testimony and spirituality in my life is like building a sandcastle on the beach. The waves seem to drag chunks away almost as fast as I can pile wet sand on top. Building a sandcastle in the wake of ocean waves can go on for hours and hours with no, or relatively little, progress being made. Believe me, I try it almost every time I go to a beach. Most of my effort is exerted in regaining what is lost to an occasional large wave. This leads me to believe that sandcastle testimony building is not a wise endeavor (duh!). How, then, can a firm testimony be built on the beach of life among the waves of adversity and doubt so we can say like Jacob "wherefore, I [can] not be shaken." Jacob 7:5? We ought to take a look at how we approach the spiritual activities in our lives such as church attendance, scripture study, prayer, and fasting. Are we merely piling wet sand on our sandcastle testimony day after day? Or are we exerting the necessary effort to quarry stone and build on a bedrock foundation? (Hint: you don't find a bedrock foundation on the part of the beach where the world likes to play and sun-bathe) What it all boils down to is this: don't make do with a temporary sandcastle when a little extra effort and wisdom could be the difference in gaining a rock-solid fortress.