Standing Strong: How to Storm-Proof Your Life With God s Timeless Truths

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And, of course, from a verse many of us can quote, we know that He offers us an unshakable relationship with Himself: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

We can see this in Israel and the Middle East, which experience seasons of severe storms and torrential rainfall. During such times, the landscape can change dramatically. The sunbaked ground, which seems so solid during the lengthy dry seasons, easily gives way when the raging waters pound against it. Gullies are formed as the force of the floods makes a path through whatever yields to it. Anything built on those shifting sands ultimately falls. However, Charles refused to let the Great Depression or the difficulties of his life define him. Instead, like his father and grandfather before him, he clung to God’s Word and took up the mantle to preach the gospel to whoever would listen.Charles Stanley’s books are thought provoking and can be life changing. And Standing Strong is no exception. He communicates clearly and offers examples along with scripture to support his arguments. Standing Strong encourages the reader to examine what they believe and how they are building their lives. I took my time reading thru this book as it was so inspirational. He brought out ideas/points I had never considered. I would recommend this book for anyone who really wants to strengthen their faith. And when he did, he went from desired Saul—the man who was sought after for his own worth—to Paul, which means “small or little.” He became a man who became known for belonging to Jesus. Thankfully, once we accept Christ as our foundation, the right building materials and appropriate techniques will fall into place—if we will truly entrust our entire lives to Him. After all, why would you go through the trouble of laying a magnificent foundation and then build it with methods and materials that are sure to fail? That would make no sense. If this is what you long for, friend, keep reading. Take this challenge to examine what you believe and how you are building your life.

Sadly, no matter how attractive a house is, if the foundation isn’t solid, it will fall. This is one of the most important principles any of us will ever learn: Our life must be built on the right foundation. At one time, Paul was called Saul, and he had all the prestige this world had to offer. He was a respected member of one of the most powerful religious ruling classes, the Pharisees. He was trained under Gamaliel, one of the greatest rabbis of the first century. Saul was known and admired among his peers as a faithful and talented man who was full of zeal for his nation.So this is the very first step to having a strong life and an unshakable foundation—having a relationship with God, which can come only through the death of Jesus on the cross. Friend, if you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord—trusting in Him alone for your salvation—then you’re not building on the right foundation. It could even be that you want to be prepared for the great plans God has for you. You’ve seen the difficulties and challenges great leaders face and want to make sure you have what it takes to endure and become all you were created to be. You desire to walk with a sense of purpose. You long to understand what speeds you along God’s path and what hinders you from moving forward. You yearn to have the courage and confidence to endure when obstacles and people arise to challenge you. Whether we are eight years old, forty-eight, or eighty-eight, in the core of our hearts, we don’t want failure to characterize the end of our stories. We don’t want to be known for our worst mistakes and defeats, but for our greatest victories and triumphs. The picture is striking. Saul thought he was living a strong life for God because of his legalistic adherence to the Law, which is the tool—or goad—that the Lord uses to direct us in how to walk with Him. But Paul was really fighting against the goad—against Scripture—because Scripture’s true purpose has always been to lead humanity to the salvation Jesus offers (Rom. 7:7–25).

In fact, the name Paul is a derivative of the word paúo, which means “to cease or desist.” What an incredible illustration of how his focus changed. He went from building his life on his own strengths, wisdom, and virtues to ceasing to be of importance at all—to considering himself nothing so Christ could have preeminence in his life. He as much said this when he wrote, “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24). All of his dreams, all of his understanding, anything he could point to as giving him worth—every bit of it became nothing because Jesus became everything. Do not miss this. Paul had to rethink everything he thought was true about what gave his life strength and value, not just some of what he believed. Notice that he said, “I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage.” But if we want to have strong lives, we have to do something different from what we’re already doing. As we said in the beginning, it’s not just having a healthy body, a profitable profession, wealth, or significant social standing in your community. It takes something more, something beyond us that nothing can overturn. What we choose to believe intrinsically determines whether or not we are able to stand strong in this life—during the easy times, and during the most difficult. Standing Strong explores the Bible to identify the central issues of life where conviction is imperative, including:So if your life is built on the temporary—read, contemporary—sand of passing opinions or other people’s theology rather than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you may find yourself crumbling under the pressures of life. Why? Because if you don’t know Jesus, you are building on your own nature, which is damaged and unreliable. No one has to tell you what your sins, failings, and mistakes are; they come immediately to mind, no matter how hard you try to forget them. Likewise, you must understand that your own nature is limited and inadequate—not only can you not see the future or control anything outside of your immediate scope of influence, but you will die one day. Any foundation you can come up with by yourself can only be temporary and insufficient. Of course, Paul is speaking about how we choose to construct our lives once the foundation of salvation through Christ is set. We can either use materials based on our own ego, needs, and desires (wood, hay, and straw), which will eventually perish, or we can build our lives out of what will please God and will endure eternally (gold, silver, and precious stones).

What we choose to believe intrinsically determines whether or not we are able to stand strong in this life—during the easy times, and during the most difficult. Standing Strong explores the Bible to identify the central issues of life where conviction is imperative,

So it is when we “renovate” our lives—we may try to get in shape, improve our health, dress nicer, embellish our résumé, and even become more outwardly religious. We try to impress others with our external qualities. We may also try to mask or diminish our pain, weaknesses, and fears with addictive substances or immoral behavior—hoping that, somehow, they’ll make us more courageous. But they don’t. They undermine our confidence even further. Now, I understand that all of this will appear radical and counterintuitive to some. And it is. What Jesus taught always requires faith that God truly exists and that He means what He says (Heb. 11:6). Likewise, not everyone will be able to accept how essential it is to trust Christ fully and stand on God’s Word (John 6:44–69). Fears of criticism, rejection, failure, or loss will always stop some people from going forward on the path that God has for their lives. They won’t want to become small so that the surpassing greatness of Christ can shine through them (2 Cor. 4:7). They won’t be willing to give up their opinions and dreams so that God can achieve exceedingly greater goals through them. And they will continue in their weakness. This powerful book from the bestselling Dr. Charles Stanley outlines key areas of conviction that can make or break who we are and how we live. Of course, you may be thinking, I accepted Jesus a long time ago. I’ve built my life on God, but I still feel weak. Perhaps you have known Christ since you were a small child or grew up in a Christian home and truly believe everything you do has a godly basis.