On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand

May 12, 2021

“It is a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet.”

- Madeleine L’Engle

24 “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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

- Jesus, Matthew 7:24-27

“Shifting sands” is a popular idiomatic phrase that describes something that is unpredictable and constantly changing. We say things like, “It is impossible to keep up with the shifting sands of technology” or “It is difficult to hold down a steady job in the shifting sands of our economy.” We can also easily apply it to the moral values of the world we live in, which are in a constant state of shifting sand.

If we are to find stability in an unstable world, we must plant our feet on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

Have you ever tried standing on sand that is constantly shifting? Just when you think you are stable and upright, the sand shifts and your balance is lost. The same holds true when we try to plant our feet on popular opinion, the approval of others or the advice of the next self-help guru.

The well-known hymn says it best,

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

We must stay away from the shifting sands of the morals of this world and plant our feet on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. This means spending time in God’s Word, in order for us to be better grounded. The writer of Hebrews writes in chapter 2, verse 1, “We must pay careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”