Built for the Storms: Finding Strength in Christ the Rock

Summary

In this inspiring episode of Bible Women and Bathrobes, hosts Tiffany Fletcher and Tamara K. Anderson explore the powerful metaphor of Jesus Christ as “the rock”—a foundation strong enough to withstand any storm. Drawing from the timeless parable of the wise man who built his house upon the rock, they discuss how life’s inevitable challenges—whether personal trials, global upheaval, or spiritual struggles—test the strength of our foundations. 

The conversation dives into real-life stories, like the dramatic classroom demonstration with Lego houses and the true account of repairing a cracked home foundation, illustrating how building on the rock of Christ offers lasting protection and hope. The hosts reflect on the idea that sometimes hitting “rock bottom” is not a defeat, but an invitation to rebuild on something unshakeable. They also liken our lives to lighthouses, anchored deep in bedrock, shining light for others even as storms rage around us.

If you’re searching for ways to strengthen your relationship with Christ or wondering how to find hope when your spiritual foundation feels shaky, this episode on “Christ the Rock” offers practical wisdom and encouragement. Discover how to anchor your life in faith, repair spiritual cracks, and let your light shine through life’s darkest moments. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion on building a foundation that lasts.

Takeaways

• The concept of hitting rock bottom can serve as a powerful catalyst for spiritual renewal and growth, enabling one to build a more solid foundation on the rock that is Christ.
• The parable of the wise man and the foolish man illustrates the critical importance of establishing one's life on a firm foundation, particularly the teachings of Jesus, to withstand life's inevitable storms.
• A relationship with Jesus, likened to a rock, not only provides stability but also serves as a defense against life's turbulent challenges and adversities, much like a well-constructed fortress.
• The imagery of lighthouses enduring fierce storms serves as a metaphor for the steadfastness we gain from anchoring our lives in Christ, allowing us to shine our light even amidst chaos.
• In times of hardship, pressing into the 'rock' of Jesus provides comfort and security, reminding us that He is a source of strength and refuge during life's unexpected trials.
• The ongoing effort to maintain a solid foundation in our lives, through practices such as prayer and scripture study, is essential for enduring the storms of life and ensuring a resilient faith.

Host & Guest

Tiffany Fletcher @tiffnyfletcher

Tiffany is a member of our Women Warriors of Light advisory board. She is an author, wife, mother and an example of faith & courage. Through her life experiences she shares hope in coming from a place of darkness to light and love. You can find her on social media @tiffanyfletcher or on her blog: motherhadasecret.blogspot.com

Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson

Tamara, founder of Women Warriors of Light, is a dynamic speaker, award winning author, and a podcaster. She is driven by her Christian faith to inspire faith in Jesus Christ. Alongside her husband, Justin, she navigates the joys and challenges of parenting four children with autism, ADHD, and mental health hurdles. You can find out more about Tamara on her website: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/

Transcript 

Tiffany Fletcher

00:00:00.800 - 00:00:09.600

Have you ever hit rock bottom? And can that be a good thing? Well, that's what we're going to talk about today as we talk about yet another name of Christ.

Intro/Outro

00:00:11.840 - 00:00:33.190

Welcome to Bible Women in Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort.

Join us Tuesday morning as the gals from Women warriors of Light and their guests don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on.

Intro/Outro

00:00:33.190 - 00:00:35.190

The Mount, we explore it all with.

Intro/Outro

00:00:35.190 - 00:00:47.870

Warmth, laughter, sisterhood and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments. Tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:00:53.870 - 00:01:03.560

Welcome to Bible Women and Bathrobes. I'm your host, Tiffany Fletcher and I'm here today with Tamara Anderson, our founder. Tamara, thanks for being here.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:03.960 - 00:01:08.120

Oh, I'm so happy to be here and join you for this wonderful discussion.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:01:08.760 - 00:01:34.270

I know, I'm excited about it. We today we're going to talk about a name of the Savior that we've heard about a lot but maybe haven't really thought a lot about.

But that is the rock. And this is kind of exciting for me. I love the idea of, of the Savior being the rock. So let's, let's just get into it. Tamara, let's start with you.

What scripture would you like to start with today to talk about as we begin this discussion?

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:34.270 - 00:06:10.210

Oh, you know, there are so many good ones, but I thought today we, it might be fun to kick it off with one that might be more well known to us.

And that is that story that Jesus gives at the very, very end of the Sermon on the Mount and the wise man and the foolish men, that short little parable tucked at the very, very end. And so basically he's saying it's in Matthew 7:24 through 27.

And he says, whoso hears these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

And what I find so fascinating about these verses is that the rains came to both, right? The rains are going to come, the storms are going to come. To both. And it just matters what your foundation is right? And, and who you're listening to.

Who is your foundation in? You started this episode out very interestingly. You said, you know, is basically is rock bottom a bad thing?

And having hit rock bottom a couple times in my life, I, I did not feel it was a very good thing at the time. I will just say that just point blank it does not feel like a good thing when you're hitting rock bottom.

But hindsight's always 2020 and maybe I needed to hit rock bottom so that I could build on the rock of Jesus Christ so that my foundation would be more sure. So that when future storms came, I would stay firm. Several years ago I did.

I've been teaching the young children at church for a while and, and we, we were talking about this very story and it was so interesting. We, we. I had a brick and a tote of that I could just put toad in. And then I made a really good compact sand, you know, a sand.

And like you're building a sand castle. I did. Nice little piece of sand. And we, we built little houses out of Legos and put little Lego people in them.

And then we had to have the rain come, right?

So I had like a big pitcher of water and I didn't want it to like totally crumble so we, we used a sieve on top so it would kind of sprinkle more like rain. And oh my gosh, the effect was so dramatic. Like, like I was surprised how good it worked.

The house that was built on the rock on that brick, those Lego people were just fine. And the house on the sand, like it almost immediately just collapsed. And the Lego people were like floating away in.

And I think my kids eyes were like, whoa, what is this? And it was so interesting to me to, to take that parable that he shared and then say, so how important is it that we do what Jesus asked us to do?

What, what protection does that give us? What kind of a foundation do you want? You know, and that's a great jumping off point for.

I think this episode is just that mental image of storms are coming. We're in the last days. Like storms are going to be hitting all the time.

Whether it's the COVID pandemic or political upheaval or whatever is going on. Earthquakes, you know, I mean, you know, the prophecies for the last days. It's, it's not going to be pretty. And where is our foundation?

And how well do we apply Jesus's teachings in our lives? It's easy to get carried away, but is it wise to get carried away and focus on other things? And so anyway, that's kind of where I was thinking.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:06:10.370 - 00:08:40.080

No, I love that. I love that because. Okay, first of all, we've talked about this before in other episodes. I love lighthouses.

They are like, my favorite, favorite thing because I feel like each one of us give me a lighthouse in our own lives. Like, we get to decide, you know, where we're going to stand and how, what kind of foundation we're going to have. And.

And I think it's so interesting how every lighthouse is in the bedrock like it is in the rock. Like. Like, unless, you know, there's some ship, like the ship houses, but those are anchored deep in the bedrock of the. Of the ocean, too.

But everywhere you go, there has to be that rock for that firm foundation. And. And what I love about lighthouses is that they were built for the storms. Right? They were built for the storms, and so their foundation is sure.

So if we, in these last days, like you said, we are. We are in these last days and storms are coming, and we are built for the storms, too. But only if we are in that rock as well.

As long as our foundation is in that rock and Jesus Christ, then can we shine for others. That only then, only then will we be in a sure foundation where we can shine our light and help other travelers in out of the darkness.

But that is the only way is through that, that foundation of Christ, that bedrock foundation with him being our rock and. And strengthening us in the storms. I love looking at those pictures of lighthouses that are in the middle of the ocean. Have you seen those?

We' There is just like waves all around it.

And here is this lighthouse that is, like, firm and strong and sure, and it is continuing to shine its light with the billowing waves rolling around it, and it is firm.

And that is what building on the rock of Christ does for us, though, when those trials come, when those storms come, we are firm and we are unchanging and we are allowing our light to shine. And. And I think that that's. That's an important aspect too. Like, lighthouses that don't have light, they don't really rescue anybody.

They just stand there, you know, so there's that combination of standing in the bedrock of Christ and shining his light. That is how we help people in. Out of the darkness, and that is how we stand firm in storms, is by standing in him and reflecting his light to others.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:08:41.850 - 00:12:10.010

Yeah. So, so good that that reminded me of another Story that happened to our family. And. Hang on, there's a different story I'm supposed to tell. Okay.

My sister Shawna and her family live in Dallas, in the Dallas area of Texas.

And several years ago, she started noticing little cracks appearing, like, in the corners of her house, and they started kind of spreading all around. She's like, what is going on? And it turns out that what had happened was part of her foundation had started to settle and.

And her house was cracking because of that.

And so they had to have, like, a specialist come in and put some concrete clear down in and, like, jack up her house and make the foundation more secure. And it was so interesting. She says it cost a lot of money. But I tell you what, that house is never going to.

It's never going to have problems again because we took care of it. And I love just that image as well, that even if maybe you're not on a firm foundation or you've got cracks, you're like, hello, I've got cracks.

You're not beyond redemption. And I love that image too, that Jesus can make up the difference.

He can get in there and help you dig deep and sure shore it up so that you fix the cracks. And she says once they. They fix the foundation, the cracks took care of themselves in the house. Like she said. It was amazing to watch.

And I love that image too, that Jesus can help us fix whatever's wrong with our foundation. And sometimes we don't notice it until we notice the cracks. We're like, oh, something's up. But that's the beautiful thing about Jesus. I.

I love that verse in 1st Samuel 2. 2 where it says, let me make sure I quote it to you right, because it's so freaking amazing. It says, there is none. Holy as the lor.

There is none besides the neither is there any rock like our God. I love that there is. There's no rock like our God. You know, he is amazing. And you just want to shout hallelujah and say, oh, he's so great.

He really is, that he can take even broken foundations and repair them and make them whole. And so even if you feel like, oh, well, I'm. I'm stuck because I don't have that sure of a foundation. That's okay. He'll help you get there.

You might have to hit rock bottom or you might need to do some repairs, you know, a little repentance or having your other little come to Jesus moments, but it's okay, you know, wherever you are, Jesus works with you to build that foundation. And to make it sure and firm so that you can withstand the storms now and the storms to come. Right?

Tiffany Fletcher

00:12:10.490 - 00:16:01.230

Yeah. I love that. And it made me think about. Sometimes we think that our relationship with Christ may not be that sure. Foundation, like. Right, right. Like.

And you look at that. Natural rocks. I mean, sometimes they have cracks on them. And sometimes, like, how are you going to build a house on. On. On a rock that is, like.

Seems so imperfect because we are imperfect. Right. And so we. But as we strengthen our relationship in him, as we.

As we clean off that sand that could be causing us to slip, as we dig deep and find the bedrock of our foundation, I think sometimes we have to wade through that quicksand. Sometimes we have to in order to find the bedrock that lies beneath it and be able to really, truly anchor ourselves in Him. In Him. I.

I love how, you know, there is any. There's no rock like our God, like, as you said, he, in our most trying times, will be there.

And we have to put in the effort to connect to him, to strengthen our foundation in him. Because he is the rock. Right? Like he is the rock. The foundation is something that we're building on the rock.

And so as we build that foundation in the rock, like, he becomes part of our home. He becomes part of our life. He becomes part of our everything. And we are able to use him as that source of strength.

As, I mean, rock is hardest, one of the hardest things, right? Like. Like using him as a source of strength, as a source of helping us stand when we feel like falling, as a source of having that peace in Him.

Peace in Christ in His strength and his love. There's another scripture that I love. This one is in Psalm 62. And. And I love. It's 62, verses 6 through 8.

And he said, it says, he only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory. The rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. And I.

I love how he talks about this. And we talked about this, the scripture, when we were talking about refuge.

But, but six, you know, when you add that to it, that he is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. I think about a rock wall and how solid they are in protecting us from the enem. That solid rock is.

Is impenetrable. I mean, you think about the. The wall of Jericho. Yes, it fell down with a cry, but that was because God helped them. You break it down. Right.

It was impenetrable. They could not get in to Jericho because of the walls that were around it. And when you think that.

That Christ is that rock solid wall around us, that he is our defense, like it is said in God my salvation, he is my defense. I shall not be moved. How confident does that make you that in him you cannot be moved because he is rock solid. And his protection will keep you.

Not only protection from the enemy, but sometimes even just protection from the world and the crazy things that are happening in it. But we can trust in him to be that defense for us, because he is a rock. And if we build a foundation of rock, it. It will not fall. And.

And I love that about him.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:16:03.150 - 00:18:23.010

I like that you said it's a defense too, because the enemy is attacking. And several.

Probably a decade and a half ago, my husband and I went to England and Wales with his parents, and we got to visit several castles around there. And it was really, really cool. But I tell you what, when you walk through the opening gate, you see how thick those base rocks are.

You're talking 10, 15ft on some of them. I'm like, yeah, there was nothing getting through here. Do you know what I mean? It was. Sure. It was solid.

And it's still standing hundreds of years later. It's amazing how old. Like, some of them were built, like in 900 AD, you know, I mean, I'm like, wow. I mean, these are old.

Especially since I live in the United States, we don't even have anything that's around that's. That's standing like that. You know, our country wasn't even built then.

And so it's just amazing to me to like, go and look at examples of man building imperfect foundations, but that if it's built well, they last and last and last and last. And that those ginormous rocks are sure foundations, you know, and they protected people against their enemies.

I'm so thankful that just that image in my mind helps me feel much more secure. Like you were talking about. I can be in a sure place when I have Jesus not only as my foundation, but as my protection as well.

And I'm not saying that Satan's not gonna, you know, not never gonna attack you again if you've got that foundation and those walls, he's gonna keep. He's gonna keep coming at you. It's just a fact in these latter days.

So I think the key then is just having Jesus as that protection and that rock and to keep doing those things like it said in that parable, keep doing the things that keep him as a focus in your life. Right?

Tiffany Fletcher

00:18:23.490 - 00:18:39.170

Yeah. I love that. That's kind of what I was thinking, too. I was going back to that parable I was thinking about.

I mean, how easy is it to build a house on the sand? Like, it doesn't require much work. Like, people build sandcastles all the time and you could do it in an afternoon. It really is not.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:18:39.650 - 00:18:39.890

It's.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:18:39.890 - 00:20:10.280

It doesn't require a lot. It's. It's pretty simple and, and easy. But building a house in bedrock, that takes a lot of work. It takes.

I mean, you can't just do that with a shovel. There's. There's important tools that you have to use. There are metal, Metal connectors that you have to use. Like it, it is work, and it's not easy.

But when we are willing to do the work and when we are willing to use the tools that God has given us, like prayer and scripture study and, and doing those things that connect us to our, to our Heavenly Father and to the Savior, that is when we truly are building. And, and anything worth doing is going to take effort and it's going to require work. And, and we have to decide, are we willing to do the work?

Are we willing to build on that bedrock? Are we willing to really dig deep and connect to that bedrock with.

With the tools God has given us so that we can be strengthened in these storms and in these last days? Because if not the, the house that we build on the sand, it's going to fall. Like, it's that. I mean, that story is very clear.

And, and I love the image that you shared with your primary kids. Like, even they knew, even Legos built Lego houses built on the sand are going to fall. It's just the physics of this world. Right?

Tamara K. Anderson

00:20:10.280 - 00:20:10.880

I know.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:20:11.120 - 00:20:38.050

And so, and so being willing to do the work, the daily work that is required to build that foundation will pay off in the end.

And it's by doing those small and simple things, one step at a time, one scripture study at a time, one prayer at a time, that is going to help us build that foundation that is sure, that. And steadfast in these last days.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:20:39.970 - 00:21:07.020

Yeah. That's so beautiful.

Another thing that was coming into my mind as I was preparing for this episode was this the beautiful imagery of the story of the children of Israel going through the wilderness, and all of a sudden they are so dying of thirst and they start complaining to Moses. I mean, poor Moses. The, the man. Oh, must should be sainted. I'm serious.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:21:08.940 - 00:21:09.500

I agree.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:21:09.500 - 00:22:58.690

And they're murmuring because they've been. They're. They're. They don't have food and water like they used to in Egypt. And they're saying, moses, we're going to die.

Why'd you bring us out of Egypt? And I'm sure Moses, just like, oh, great. But Moses, of course, turns to God and says, what shall I do unto this people?

They're ready to stone me, you know, And I love that the Lord has a solution. It has to do with a rock. And I think this is very fascinating.

And it almost ties in a different title besides Jesus being the rock, that he is living water as well. But he says, go on before the people. He told them where he should go.

And he says, behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

And I love this story because, first of all, I like that even when we're complaining, God has a solution, right? Because, hello, imperfect. Have I complained before? Yep, I sure have. But I also love that the solution lay in a rock, that.

That Moses even here, was pointing them to their Savior symbolically, that from their Savior, their rock, they could have living water, something that would bring them life and keep them from dying. They're in the wilderness. And so I love how that kind of blends in a different title of Jesus, how they can fit and work together. Bring them life.

Right?

Tiffany Fletcher

00:22:59.410 - 00:26:39.810

Yeah. That's beautiful. It reminds me of the Scripture. So in First Corinthians, Paul talks about that.

Actually, he talks about the children of Israel, First Corinthians 10, verse 4. And he. This is what he said, which I. I thought is so beautiful.

He said, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that same spiritual rock that followed them. And that rock was Christ. I love that. You know, he's talking that Christ is both the rock and the water that comes from it. He is both. And in that, it.

It is a spiritual drink, and it is a spiritual rock. And. And when we recognize that, and when we are willing to drink deeply from that spiritual drink that comes from.

From the rock, that spiritual rock, that is when we feel refreshed. That is when at the end of the day, we are tired and we are weary and we are wandering and we are wondering if God is even there.

Like when we drink deeply and drink that water that comes from the rock of our salvation.

That is when we find refreshment and we find peace, and we find hope to live another day, and we find strength to keep moving forward in all of the hard things that life throws at us. And I. I find that very beautiful that in Iraq we could find so much peace.

I took a geology class when I was in college, and I learned a lot about different rocks. Right.

Probably more than I wanted to know about rocks, but at the same time, I find that there is so much beauty in them, you know, as a natural phenomenon in. In the earth. And, you know, on an earlier podcast, we talked about the lessons we can learn from creation and. And rocks.

I mean, it's sediments that have been crushed together for a very long time. It takes immense pressure to create a rock. And I.

You look at the Savior, and you think the immense pressure that he underwent in the Garden of Gethsemane and the years and years and years after that, he is now, you know, our rock, and he is strengthening us, and he is working tirelessly to mold us into the people God needs us to be. And he is every bit a rock in every sense of the word. He has been under immense pressure.

He knows all of the pressures of life, and he is willing to stand with us as we move through those. And. And I. I think that, you know, sometimes, like, when you're struggling, you. You'll talk about a person like, they were my rock.

They were my rock through this, right? Like, they. They were my rock. And. And there is no better rock than the Savior.

Like, I hope that when someone goes through trials and someone says, how do you do it? You can say, the Lord was my rock. He was my rock.

He was my strength, and he was the one that helped me stand when I felt like just falling in that quicksand and. And giving in. It was his foundation that kept me moving forward.

And I think that if we can recognize him as that rock, it will make it a big difference in our lives and it will strengthen us when we're. When we're struggling.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:26:40.210 - 00:26:41.010

Absolutely.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:26:41.330 - 00:26:46.690

Well, my friend, our time is running. I mean, it goes so quickly. I just don't know.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:26:46.690 - 00:26:47.170

It does.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:26:47.330 - 00:26:56.170

Like, I. Seriously, every time, I'm just amazed. So let's talk about takeaways.

What is your biggest takeaway or anything else that you'd like to share before we end this episode? Episode?

Tamara K. Anderson

00:26:57.050 - 00:29:43.150

Oh, I'd like to finish with a quick story. Our family was in Zion national park many, many years ago, when my kids were pretty young. And we had been going on several little, short hikes.

And there was one that we had been wanting to do. And it was hard to get parking for it because there wasn't very much parking. So we finally got parking and we started climbing up this cliff or this.

They, they had the, the steps kind of carved into the rock and stuff like that. And we went up and we saw this beautiful vista.

And the closer we got to the top of this hike, all of a sudden this storm started blowing in and our son Nathan, who has low functioning autism, hates getting wet.

And you know, I saw that storm blowing in and, and seriously, the winds were starting to pick up and blow strong enough that like, I was scared for my little kids.

Like my, my husband wanted to take my oldest and then Jacob to this overlook and I said, if you do, you have to hold on to Jacob because the wind was starting to blow and literally they almost had to like get down on the ground because it was blowing so hard. Well, I was like, I'm going to start heading back because I don't want to get caught in this storm.

And so they, we, we started puttering our way back and my husband caught up to us. And just as we came back to that beginning place where the, the stone, the stairs were cut into the stone, it started chucking down rain and hail.

It was just ferocious storm. And right beside those steps that were cut into the rock, there was probably this 100, 150, 200 foot sheer face that of rock.

It was just straight up and down and we went and we literally pressed our backs against the rock and because of the angle of the wind, we stayed dry. Like seriously, we stayed dry just pressing it against this sheer rock face. And it was like one of those microbursts.

It probably rained for five minutes and then it was gone. It was just so fast.

But I remember thinking afterwards, how miraculous is it that even when freak storms come that take you completely off guard, you can press into the rock and be okay.

And I think that that is my big takeaway here, is that no matter what storm God throws at you, wherever you are, whether you're expecting it or not, you can press into the rock and be okay.

Tiffany Fletcher

00:29:44.590 - 00:31:08.650

It's such a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing that. I, I really, really love that.

And for me, my takeaway is I want to start doing those things that connect me more to the rock. The more I see the world, the more I recognize that, that things like storms are coming.

Like you said they are, they are at our door, they are knocking on our window.

And, and I want to make sure not only that I am connected to the rock, but that my children are connected to the rock, that they know that he is their rock and that he can that if they connect to him, they can have that sure foundation too. I that is important and an important takeaway for me. It's been a wonderful episode.

I hope that there's something here that has inspired you to be able to connect to the rock of our salvation.

I hope that you know that that Jesus is there and that if your foundation is a little bit wonky, we'll just do those things that will help you stay secure in Him. He is waiting there for us like the wise man building his house on the rock. We can do the same thing in our homes and in our families.

So my challenge for you this week is to do something that will strengthen your foundation and help you connect to the rock who is our Savior, Jesus Christ. And until next time, God bless.

Intro/Outro

00:31:10.170 - 00:31:50.830

Thanks for tuning in to Bible Women and Bathrobes, hosted by Women warriors of Light. We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women or the teachings of the Savior today with you.

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Until next time, stay faithful and and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.