Life is not all bright and happy. We live in a fallen world where sickness and death come to young and old alike, people disappoint us and let us down, governments become corrupt, evil seems to win as good suffers, justice is perverted by wealth, the poor suffer while the rich bask in luxury, and sometimes the church fails to stand on the side of righteousness. If our eyes become focused on this world we can lose sight of a faithful God who is in complete control of everything, and has never once failed or broken His promises.
When our hope and trust is in earthly things it's easy to become feverish in our activity thinking the future depends on us; but the things of this world will disappoint us every time, and sometimes they cause us to lose our way. When we trust in money or good health, we crumble in despair when it's taken away. When we rely on the church or other Christians we're devastated and lose our faith when they fail to live up to what they say they believe. When we place our hope in businesses or governments; we're tempted to compromise the gospel for temporary gain, or perhaps "do evil that good may come of it." When our confidence is in family or friends, we find ourselves excusing their wrong actions or caving to peer pressure for the sake of relationship. The only safe place for our trust is in in our ever-faithful Savior.
These lines from a 184 year old hymn say it best:
The Solid Rock
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.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in ev'ry high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.
Because He never fails; we can have hope in our despair, comfort in our pain, and light in the darkest night. We can walk forward into a volatile world knowing that He holds the future in His almighty hand, and we can stand true to His Word against the tide of popular opinion because He gives us strength.
Supplies and tools:
- 100 Days of Grace and Gratitude Devotional Journal
- Project Life Cards (Becky Higgins)
- Blessings/Beatitudes 1 (Stamp Simply Ribbon Store)
- Floral Cluster & Sprigs Dies (Stamps Simply Ribbon Store)
- Ornate Ovals (Divinity Designs)
- Embroidery Deep Edge Punch (Martha Stewart)
- Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink (Ranger)
- Blue Twine
- Washi Tape
This post linked to:
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes
2 comments:
Very encouraging to read, Esther. He never does fail us does [Bunny]
Oh I love the hymn Solid Rock! Love your wreath with the border of roses, pretty framing of the verse. May we always remember his faithfulness as we go through hard times!
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