In Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV), Jesus said:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Most of us have heard this passage and we know that the person who built his house upon the rock refers to one who builds his life upon Jesus Christ, Who is refered to as the Stone which the builders rejected.  A life built on Jesus will not fall when the winds and waves of life hit it.

Let's look at this in a slightly different light.  In ancient Israel, the building of a house was a labor-intensive thing.  There were no backhoes or automatic equipment.  The work was done manually.  If a house was to be set on a solid rock foundation, the laborer would need to dig down to the bedrock.  This could mean digging a good ways down into the earth.  In some situations, the house was built on the side of a rocky cliff or hill in order to build upon stone.  Regardless, it was hard work to build upon a foundation of rock.  It would be tempting to build on the sand.  A good foundation meant doing some rough work.

Now, remember, we said that the Rock represents Jesus.  Jesus is also called the Word (John 1:1-3 KJV).  So, we could say that the rock is the same as the Word.  We need to build our lives on Jesus, the Word.  In order to do so, we need to dig deep, and we need to labor in the Word.  A successful Christian life is not for the lazy; it takes effort.  Surface knowledge of the Word is not enough.  We cannot build a victorious life on a basic awareness of just a few verses.  We must search the depths of the Word, gain revelation, and build our lives on it.  And when we do the hard work to build on the solid rock of God's Word, we will be able to stand in the midst of any storm.