On Christ the solid rock I stand

I've been pretty down the past few days. There, I said it.

I'm sure it's from some combination of being cooped up inside for 4 days, due to the extremely low temperatures that accompanied the polar vortex; missing out on 2 days' pay at work while the university was closed, since I'm only a part-time employee; and feeling like I can't shake this sinus infection/possible ear infection I've had going on for over a week.

And then there's the mountain of debt I'm under, my inability to find full-time employment, my house (well, apartment) being a constant wreck, feeling rather unhappy with my health lately. Oh, and that good news I alluded to in a recent post? Yeah, nothing came of that. I could go on, but I'll spare you the whining. Also, that's so not where I'm heading with this post.

I just spent a very refreshing shower pondering all the possible topics I could expound upon tonight. I thought and thought as the hot water relaxed my tense muscles, and the steam loosened my sinuses.

After a long train of thought that went absolutely nowhere, a familiar song started playing in my head. I grew up with hymn after glorious hymn being etched in my memory (one of the perks of being the daughter of a Baptist pianist/organist): something I frequently forget until one of those tunes starts playing in my head. I take it as a message from God, saying, "Hey, remember me? Remember these words and that melody that are somewhere in your brain and have the capacity to shake your bad mood and make you remember how much I love you?"

Through all my struggles--through my current test--part of my job, part of the reason I've been planted here, as I see it, is to help others. To reach out by using my gift of language and my mind full of vast amounts of information to write a message whose words will grab someone's perspective, shake it, and mold it into something softer, more enlightened, and renewed. Tonight, God gave me the power to do that.

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874
1. 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.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
 

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Text: 1 Timothy 1:1

I love these words. I'm not the only one with problems, and there are others who have it far worse. My struggles are real, sure, but so are everyone else's. So what's the message in all this?

This world and every thing and circumstance in it is feeble...breakable and uncertain. God is mighty. God is unchanging and unshakable.

Where should we turn when times get tough? Who can give us hope? Who provides an unwavering stronghold? Who has the timing and the answers?

No human. No thing. Only Jesus. He's waiting for you. He hears your cries when no one else can.

Here's to a happy tomorrow in Christ!

-Kels