The Solid Rock

Sunday evening. Nearly

11 PM, and for the last two hours I've been the only one up. Today was full, with worship and all the related things that I do in preparation each Sunday morning. Then a short meeting, followed by a Thanksgiving potluck with two other local congregations. Then working on the things I usually do each Sunday afternoon, in preparation for next Sunday. Robin has been ailing a bit and so I canceled our Sunday evening ministry so I could stay home to watch the kids. Someone stopped at house and needed a ride. And lastly a phone call from someone who needed to talk and be prayed for.

All that made today a bit more hectic than the average Sunday, but it's been a bit of a hectic week. Last Monday I was hoping to blog on Thursday, when the most important tasks of the week would be finished. Tuesday brought the news of a very unexpected death in our community, and so my priorities for the week changed. Still, by late Thursday I thought I might have both time and inspiration to write.  But something else came up that was a higher priority. Friday brought another event that wasn't part of the plan, but needed urgent attention.  Saturday was filled with the funeral and related activities. We worshipped the Lord and remembered a man who was loved deeply within this community. After that it was time to just spend a quiet evening with our family.

As I sit here I have a song that keeps passing through my mind. I chose it last week Sunday as our closing song for worship today. A bit earlier this evening I played it for Robin, who wasn't able to attend church this morning. It goes by more than one name, either "My Hope is Built," which are the opening words, or "The Solid Rock," which is from the chorus. Here is the first verse and the chorus:

"My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand."

Having picked it last Sunday it has actually been on my mind off-and-on all week, and as the week has gone by the truth of that verse and chorus has been clearly evident. My hope, and the hope that I attempt to proclaim week-by-week from the pulpit, is built on Christ, and only Christ. He, and he alone, is the solid place for me to stand.

And those things aren’t just true for me and the week I've had, or the week that is to come, but they are true for you too. If your hope is built on anything else, if you are standing on anything else than faith in Christ, you are building and standing on something that is flawed and that will fail. The faults or flaws may not be evident today, but one day they will be clearly seen.

Faith in Christ doesn't make everything in our lives perfect. Not by any means. But it is a firm, and unfailing foundation when things seem as if they are spiraling out of control. This week it has been my privilege as a pastor to open my Bible and pray with people. I don’t have answers as to why certain things happen, but I do know whom to trust in as those events unfold.

"On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand"

May Christ be the solid rock where you stand too. Amen.