devotional post # 2051

Luke 21:5-6

Luk 21:5 Also, since some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with precious stones and dedicated gifts, he said,
Luk 21:6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Jenga

There’s a quiet tension in every game of Jenga. Each player removes a block, hoping to keep the tower standing just a little longer. Everyone knows the collapse is coming—it’s built into the game. The only question is who will be holding the block when the whole thing finally gives way. The trick is simple: don’t be the one who triggers the inevitable.

No one in Jesus’ day thought of the temple like that. The temple was the pride of Israel, the architectural heart of their faith, the symbol of God’s presence and their national identity. Its stones were massive, its courts expansive, its beauty unmatched. People assumed it would stand for generations. It felt immovable, permanent, untouchable. The idea that it could fall was unthinkable.

But Jesus knew better. He saw what no one else could see. He knew that even the strongest structures built by human hands eventually crumble. He knew that the things we trust because they look solid are often far more fragile than we imagine. He knew that the temple—magnificent as it was—was still a Jenga tower waiting for the wrong moment, the wrong pressure, the wrong generation. And He warned His disciples not to anchor their confidence to something destined for destruction.

We haven’t learned that lesson very well. We still put our trust in things we can see—buildings, institutions, careers, bank accounts, reputations. We cling to what looks stable, forgetting that everything visible is temporary. We build our sense of security on towers that will eventually fall, and we’re surprised when they do. But Jesus keeps calling us to a different foundation, one that cannot be shaken, one that does not collapse under pressure, one that is not made of stone but of His own life and presence within us.

He invites us to let Him build something inside us that no earthquake, no crisis, no loss, no collapse can destroy. He wants to form in us a faith that stands when everything else falls, a character shaped by His Spirit, a hope anchored in eternity rather than circumstances. The world around us may tremble, but the inner life He builds remains firm.

LORD, build us on the inside with stones that stay—faith, hope, love, obedience—so that no matter what collapses around us, we stand secure in You.