“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” (ELW 597)
Devotion
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
no merit of my own I claim,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
Refrain
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
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. Refrain
His oath, his covenant, his blood
sustain me in the raging flood;
when all supports are washed away,
he then is all my hope and stay. Refrain
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
oh, may I then in him be found,
clothed in his righteousness alone,
redeemed to stand before the throne! Refrain
Hope is about what is ultimate. It is about God who created us and redeems us and gives us true purpose. Our hope cannot be built on the shifting sands of our culture's current solutions to our soul's deep longings. Consumerism, violence, wealth or image are not only wrong-headed solutions to our deep problems or questions but are sand rather than the foundational rock for the life God intends for us. "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." Jesus was the face of God on earth. The life-transforming truth people found in him was his unrelenting love that became the foundation of their relationship with him. His love supported the disciples even when they didn’t fully understand everything he said or did. Even when bad things happened, even when they were challenged by him, they felt his love. Nothing they could do and nothing the world could do to them could place them outside his life-giving love. That is our foundation for life and we dare not trade it for substitute trinkets, no matter how well they are crafted for us.
Prayer
Jesus you are my hope. I believe it. Help me put my trust in you even when others offer alternatives that may draw me away from you. Amen.