Depending on when you're hitting play on this
episode, our country is celebrating a pretty
big milestone. We're staring right at the 250th
anniversary of the United States. And right out
of the gate, I want to say this really clearly
and sincerely. I am so incredibly grateful to
be an American. I don't take for granted the
freedoms we have, the opportunities we've been
handed, or the sacrifices made by people who
came before us so we could work, worship, raise
our kids, and speak honestly without looking
over our shoulders. That is an absolute gift.
But there is a massive, eternal difference between
being grateful for the country you live in and
letting that country define your identity. Because
our American identity usually doesn't try to
kick our faith out of the car. It just politely
pushes it into the backseat. We slow cook the
American dream. and the Christian life together
until the lines get blurry enough that we start
believing building a prosperous life is the same
thing as following Jesus. We listen to the cultural
scripts. Work hard. Build something bigger than
what you came from. Give your kids everything
you never had. Get ahead. Make something of yourself.
And none of that is automatically evil. Hard
work is a virtue. providing for your family is
honorable stewarding your life well is deeply
biblical but good things become dangerous when
we try to build a foundation on them the American
dream doesn't just invite us to work it demands
that we measure it asks how much did you build
how far up the leadership ladder did you get
how comfortable is your life how impressive does
it look from the road without even realizing
it We start building our own little kingdoms
right here on earth. And even worse, we're baptizing
them with Christian vocabulary so we feel better
about it. We call blinding ambition faithfulness.
We call redline exhaustion being responsible.
We call consumer debt normal. We call luxury
blessing. We call total independence maturity.
And then we sit on the edge of our beds at night
wondering why our souls feel hollowed out. That
is what we've been discussing throughout this
entire pot. The pressure to produce. The panic
of waiting. The burnout hiding underneath responsibility.
The grief that refuses to cooperate with our
plans. The outcomes we try to control. The success
we keep trying to define on our own terms. Now
that we've reached the final cup of the season,
we have to ask the question underneath all of
it. What have we actually been standing on? If
you and I are building our lives on productivity,
comfort, status, and a dream that requires constant
striving to sustain it, eventually one of two
things is going to happen. Either the whole house
collapses under its weight, or, by the grace
of God, He shows us, The sand before the collapse
destroys us. And that is mercy. God never exposes
a shaky foundation to embarrass you. He exposes
it to rescue you. He shows you the sand so that
you'll stop trying to anchor your life to it
and come back to the rock. At the end of the
day, the goal was never to build a life that
looked dazzling to people driving by. The goal
was always to stand before our creator and hear,
well done, good and faithful servant. Not well
traveled. Not highly impressive. Not incredibly
comfortable. Faithful. The false dreams we built
on are going to crack. Our plans are going to
shift. The storms are absolutely going to blow.
But a better foundation still stands. Welcome
to Grace in the Grind, brought to you by Arrow
and Roots Coffee Company, where faith meets the
everyday. Here we take time to notice God's presence
in the middle of life's busiest moments, to find
encouragement, clarity, and a reminder of His
grace right in the grind of daily life. So grab
your coffee, and let's take a sip of this cup
together. Before we go any further, let me pause
to tell you what's brewed today. Today I've got
Ozark Roots from Arrow & Roots Coffee Company
brewed in a drip. I love it this way. It's simple,
steady, and dependable. Nothing flashy. Now today
we are landing this whole season by asking one
ultimate question. What foundation is still standing
when the dream starts to crack? If you've been
tracking with us through the entire pot too,
You know we haven't been arguing that hard work
is evil or that planning is stupid. Those are
really good things. And if you ask my wife, I
plan all the time and I work all the time. But
good things become dangerous the second we try
to anchor our entire identity to them. The American
dream is great at handling a winning streak,
progress, achievement. or upward mobility. But
it has very little vocabulary for the things
that actually make up a human life. Grief, limits,
waiting, and obedience. The kind of faithfulness
that looks completely ordinary from the outside.
That is where scripture brings us back to reality.
When the floor falls out, our foundation cannot
be built on success, productivity, financial
stability, or the idealized version of life we
thought we'd have by now. Those things may be
gifts, but they make terrible ground. You can
enjoy a gift. You cannot stand on it. So today,
we're turning to Matthew 7, 1 Timothy 6, and
1 Corinthians 3 to ask, when the storm hits,
what actually holds? At the end of the Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus tells a story many of us
have heard a thousand times. Two men build two
houses, one on the rock, one on the sand. And
if you grew up in church, yes, that Sunday school
song is already playing on a loop in your brain.
And you're welcome for that. But Jesus is not
giving a DIY framing lesson today. And I'm not
giving any music lessons today. He's showing
us what happens when life puts pressure on what
we have built. And notice, the exact same storm
hits both houses. Therefore, everyone who hears
these words of mine and acts on them will be
like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And the rains fell, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and slammed against that house.
And yet, it did not fall. for it had been founded
on the rock and everyone who hears these words
of mine and does not act on them will be like
a foolish man who built his house on the sand
and the rains fell and the floods came and the
winds blew and slammed against that house and
it fell and the collapse was great the same rain
the same flood the same wind The difference wasn't
the weather. The difference was underneath. The
storm doesn't create the problem. It just reveals
what was already there. Think of it as a spiritual
home inspection. Everything looks great from
the curb until life crawls into the crawlspace
with a flashlight and says, yep, we've got a
major issue here. The storm is the ultimate diagnostic
tool. When work slows down, what are you leaning
on for your work? When grief crashes in, what
did you subconsciously assume God owed you? When
the bank account bleeds, what does your heart
reach for to feel safe? The American dream asks,
how does it look on the outside? Jesus asks,
will it stand when the sky turns black? And Jesus
says the wise person is not the one who simply
hears his words and agrees. It is the one who
hears his words and does them. Not hears and
nods. Not hears and highlights it. Not hears
and texts the podcast link to a friend who really
needs to hear this. Hears and does. The American
dream says, build something impressive. Jesus
says, build on my words. Only one of those houses
is still there. when the weather clears. Let's
bring this down to eye level. Lately, Christy
and I have been looking at some of our very normal,
unglamorous life stuff. Debt, spending habits,
lifestyle creeping in a direction, stewardship,
the quiet pressure to keep up. It wasn't a dramatic
financial ruin by any means. It was just good
old -fashioned life creeping down one direction.
Something breaks. An unexpected bill shows up.
A few convenience purchases feel manageable in
the moment. And then one day you look at the
numbers and realize, okay, our bank account is
officially trying to stage an intervention. So
we sat down and started asking those fun, romantic
questions every married couple dreams of when
they're about to get married. Where do we cut
back? What have we treated as normal that really
shouldn't be? What are we calling necessary that
may just be convenient? The longer we talk, the
more we realize this wasn't just a financial
conversation. It was a discipleship conversation.
Because stewardship is not only about money.
It's about our desires. It's about our attention.
And what we choose to call enough. That gets
uncomfortable fast in a culture that treats more
like a basic human right. Most of what we already
have gets the job done. But culture loves to
whisper, getting the job done isn't enough. You
deserve the upgrade. The question isn't just,
can we afford this? The deeper question is, who
is discipling our desires? Is scripture training
us in contentment, or is a marketing algorithm
training us in dissatisfaction? That's why 1
Timothy 6 hits so hard. 1 Timothy 6, 6 -10 says,
But godliness actually is a means of great gain
when accompanied by contentment. For we have
brought nothing into the world, so we can take
nothing out of it either. If we have food and
covering, with these we shall be content. But
those who want to get rich fall into temptation
and a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires
which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all sorts
of evil, and some, by longing for it, have wandered
away from the faith and pierced themselves with
many griefs. So what it says, godliness with
contentment is great gain. That sentence is offensive
to American economic machines. Culture says gain
equals more. But Paul says great gain is godliness
with contentment. A soul that can say Christ
is enough, even when this season is not everything
I wanted, Scripture honors diligence and responsible
stewardship. It also warns us that money is never
just money. Sometimes the budget exposes the
soul. Every expense asks a question. What am
I trying to comfort? What am I trying to prove?
What anxiety am I trying to shop away? If Christ
isn't enough, the next upgrade won't be either.
More might distract us for a weekend, but it
cannot carry the weight of an immortal soul.
The question shifts from, how do I squeeze the
most comfort out of this life? To, how do I faithfully
manage what belongs to God? Because all of it
belongs to Him. Your paycheck, your house, your
Tuesday afternoon, your future. That's humbling.
But it is also a massive relief. You aren't the
owner. And you don't have to be the savior. You're
the manager. You are called to faithfulness,
not absolute control. Paul gives us another construction
picture in 1 Corinthians 3, and he doesn't leave
room for confusion. According to the grace of
God, which was given to me like a wise master
builder, I laid a foundation, and another is
building on it. But each person must be careful
how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation
other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation
with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
or straw, each one's work will become evident.
For the day will show it because it is to be
revealed with fire. And the fire itself will
test the quality of each one's work. If anyone's
work which he has built on it remains, he will
receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned
up, he will suffer loss. But he himself will
be saved, yet only so as through the fire. No
one can lay a foundation other than the one already
laid, which is Jesus Christ. That's the heart
of this whole pot. There's no better foundation
than Christ. Not the American dream. Not your
career trajectory or retirement plan, your parenting
strategy, or your ability to hold everything
together. Those things may matter. Some of them
may be good. But they are not load -bearing.
Paul warns that a day is coming when our work
will be tested by fire. That's sobering. Some
things look incredibly impressive on earth right
now. Right up until eternity evaluates them.
You can spend your whole life building something
people praise you for, only to realize it can't
survive the fire. But this isn't meant to terrify
us into despair. It's meant to wake us up. A
better foundation stands because Christ stands.
When markets crash, he stands. When the plans
shift, Christ stands. When grief comes, he still
stands. When success leaves you empty, Christ
is standing. When your strength runs out, Christ
stands. The foundation is not a theological concept.
It's a person, and his name is Jesus. Here is
where grace meets us. Not by shaming us for absorbing
cultural expectations. Not by mocking us because
we believed things we were handed. Not by saying,
wow, I cannot believe it took you so long to
notice the sand. No. Grace meets us by freeing
us from the expectations we were never meant
to carry. When Christ is the foundation, success
no longer defines you. Failure doesn't either.
Work becomes faithfulness, not proof. Rest becomes
trust, not irresponsibility. Waiting is still
hard. but it's no longer evidence that you are
behind. Grief still hurts, but it doesn't mean
God has abandoned you. You are finally resting
your weight on someone who already holds. That
changes the whole posture of your life. You can
work hard without believing your worth depends
on it. You can steward wisely without worshiping
security. You can simplify without shame. You
can repent without spiraling. You can rebuild
without pretending nothing was cracked. Because
the foundation is not shifting every time the
circumstances shift. Christ still stands. Look
back over the whole pot. The takeaway is not
that hard work is bad, planning is foolish, or
providing for your family doesn't matter. Those
are excellent things and godly things. But good
things become dangerous when we ask them to carry
the weight only Christ was meant to hold. If
your definition of enough is always one step
ahead of wherever you currently are, you're being
led by appetite. And appetite is a terrible shepherd.
It never says, we're good. It just whispers,
what's next? But if God exposes sand underneath
your feet today, He's doing it to rescue you,
exposing what is ultimately something that's
going to wreck you. It's the ultimate form of
mercy. So we simplify, we repent, and we receive
grace right where shame has been shouting the
loudest. A life built on Jesus may not look flashy
from the road, but it does stand. For our practical
move forward this week. Let's skip the grand
life overhaul. Don't make a dramatic social media
announcement about your new season, new me. Don't
buy a new journal, create a new color -coded
system, and abandon it by Thursday. Just sit
quietly with the Lord and ask one question. What
is this season exposed about my foundation? You
can ask that about your anxiety. You can ask
it about your calendar, your spending. your exhaustion,
your need for approval. Any of those things can
expose things. Then take one small, faithful
step towards rebuilding on Christ. Maybe it's
an honest budget conversation. Maybe it's deleting
an app that breeds discontentment. Maybe it's
apologizing to your family for being physically
present, but mentally miles away chasing a dollar.
Maybe it's finally admitting, that the pace you've
called responsible has not actually been faithful.
Your prayer doesn't need to be impressive. It
can be as simple as, Lord, I see the sand. Help
me come back to the rock. That's a foundational
prayer. Before we wrap up, thank you so much
for walking through Part 2 with us. If this show
has been helpful and you want to support what
we're doing here, One of the simplest ways is
buying a bag of coffee from Aaron Root's Coffee
Company. It's genuinely good coffee, and it helps
these honest conversations keep going. And it's
a simple way to not just support this show, but
it also supports our family as we strive to do
ministry and continue these conversations. This
season was called The Fall Stream We Built On.
Sold a lie. And if there is one thing I hope
we've realized, it's that the lie was never just
out there in the culture. The false dream got
inside us. It shaped our expectations. It hijacked
our fears. It trained definitions of security,
trained our definitions of success. But the gospel
does not just forgive our sins and leave our
foundations untouched. Christ saves the whole
person. He reorders what we love, what we chase,
what we call success, what we call enough. So
if this season brought things into the light,
don't run from it. Bring the anxiety, the financial
stress, the exhaustion, the pride, the disappointment.
Bring it straight to him. Christ is not fragile,
and he is not surprised. He is the foundation
that still stands. And he is kind enough to rebuild
what we finally stopped pretending is stable.
That sets up exactly where we're heading in our
next season. So, we have one final extra shot
from Pot 2. But after that, Pot 3 is going to
tackle a new question. What does God actually
say about his church? Not just what our... childhood
tradition did, not what our personal preferences
are, not just what church has looked like in
our corner of the world. Those conversations
do have a place. But we need to be opening the
Bible and asking what Christ actually bought
with his own blood. We're going to build our
view of the church from the bedrock of Scripture
up, not to attack tradition. not to chase novelty,
but to make sure that Jesus has the first and
the final word. Because the church does not belong
to us. She belongs to Christ. If part two has
been helpful, share this season with someone.
Don't send it like a spiritual grenade. Send
it like an invitation. Just say, hey, this challenged
me. I thought it might be helpful to you too.
And don't forget to follow Leave a review and
subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.
Thanks for listening to Grace in the Grind, where
we keep our coffee strong and our faith stronger.
The false dreams will crack. The plans will change.
The storms will absolutely blow. But a better
foundation still stands, and his name is Christ.
We'll see you in the next cut.