Building Codes – Zoe Devotional #2

by Morgan Stephens

By now, you have seen the heartbreaking updates streaming in from Turkey and Syria:

More than 25,000 dead from an earthquake—and that’s likely just the beginning of the body count.

It has been the tragedy of a generation in multiple nations for multiple reasons:

So many lives lost, so much destruction, so many buildings collapsed…except.

Except for the curious and incredible story coming out of a small city in Turkey not far from the very epicenter of the earthquake.

In Ezrin, Turkey, not a single building collapsed, and not a single life was lost.

How was this possible?

City officials have credited these astonishing facts to a long-standing policy not to allow any substandard buildings to be built. Every single building in Ezrin had to meet the highest standard for earthquake prevention—and it paid off (read news story here).

In contrast to the many buildings across the nation, and in spite of national laws which allowed substandard preventative measures to be used in order to save time and especially money, Ezrin instead tore down any buildings that had gone up without meeting their codes.

And now, people are flooding in from around the area in search of safety. The city has been able to provide.

At this point, the connection should be obvious:

How we build our lives really, really matters. At some point it becomes a life-or-death issue, spiritually speaking.

If we want to experience life—the zoe life of Christ—and not death, then the “building codes” we choose can make all the difference.

When we embrace the spiritual disciplines of fasting, prayer, daily bible reading, corporate worship, giving, and service, we build the right kind of life, one that can flourish, even when an earthquake goes off and shakes the very ground beneath our feet.

We can’t prevent earthquakes. But we can, in fact, build in such a way that prevents our house from collapsing—and opens the door for others to find refuge in their time of need.

Would you pray this today?

God, help me to build in such a way that lasts. Your word says that everyone who hears your word and obeys it is like someone who digs down deep and builds their foundation on a rock.

Would you help me today, in light of what Christ has done for me and the love Christ has for me, to embrace the right rhythms that bring life and not death?

You are the giver of life and I choose to embrace your promise of zoe for me today.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.