Family update and The Rock

Good evening, partners,

I pray the same faithful Lord who has carried me is carrying each of you tonight.

It’s been one of those weeks.

Ray — Keith’s father and Jake’s grandfather — has chosen to discontinue dialysis. After more than 70 years of marriage to Mamie, he’s ready to see Jesus face‑to‑face. On top of that, our family has weathered three surgeries and a couple of emergency hospital stays…all in a matter of days. The hits didn’t trickle in; they pounded us like waves on rock. Our adversary loves those concentrated barrages, hoping the noise will drown out God’s faithfulness. But the One who has kept us still keeps us.

Jesus warned us about that strategy and gave the antidote:

“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.”— Matthew 7:24‑25 (NIV)

Yet it did not fall.

Not because the house was architecturally brilliant, but because the foundation was immovable. Isaiah names that foundation:

“You will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on You…Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock.”— Isaiah 26:3‑4 (AMPC)

If the storm is going to rage, let it measure itself against the Rock of Ages who has never lost a battle.

Paul understood that better than anyone. Read his résumé of hardship in 2 Corinthians 11:23‑28 and you’ll wonder if you’ve ever had a bad day. Yet his refrain is steady:

• “But none of these things move me…that I may finish my course with joy.” — Acts 20:24

• “Our present troubles are small and won’t last long…they produce for us a glory that far outweighs them.” — 2 Cor 4:17

• “Pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair…struck down, but never destroyed.” — 2 Cor 4:8‑9 (AMPC)

So here’s where the rubber meets the rain‑slick pavement: The next time the sirens blare and the wind rattles your windows, say those five words—out loud. Let the storm size you up; glare back, square your shoulders, clench your fists, and whisper through gritted teeth: “Yet. It. Did. Not. Fall.”

Not because we are master carpenters, but because Christ is the un‑crackable cornerstone. The same voice that calmed Galilean whitecaps now guards your mind with perfect peace (Isa 26:3). The same hands that steadied Peter on the waves still grip your wrist when doubt tugs you under. Let the enemy hurl every breaker he can muster; the Rock of Ages has never buckled, and He will not start with you.

So lift your eyes, partners. Let Paul’s battle‑tested anthem ring in your chest: Pressed? Yes. Crushed? Never. Struck down? Maybe. Destroyed? Impossible. (2 Cor 4:8‑9). Our present troubles—dialysis decisions, operating‑room beeps, midnight phone calls—are “small and momentary” only because the eternal weight of glory is massive and permanent (2 Cor 4:17). That glory is already rolling toward us like a sunrise no cloud bank can smother.

Hold fast, family. Grip the Rock, speak the Word, and watch the waves lose their swagger. None of these things move us.

Yet it did not fall.

We will not fall.

He keeps us.

With love and unshakeable hope,

Keith & Jake Provance