All other ground

There is something to be said about a firm foundation. Without one, structures crumble and eventually fall. Without one, homes cannot endure the test of time. Without a firm and solid foundation, it is only a matter of time before collapse becomes inevitable.I found myself listening to an “old” worship song again this past week. I say “old” because while it might be “old” to me, it’s really not all that old when you hold this song up to some of the hymns of old, the anthems of our faith, like Amazing Grace or It Is Well, but nevertheless, this particular song felt “old” to me. I first heard the song when I was in college at Moody Bible Institute. We would sing it regularly in our chapel services that we attended, and without fail, I was never able to make it to the end of this song without tears streaming down my face.I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m a crier, but I’m also not one to try to hold back tears when they need to come, and they often seem to come for me in times of worship. I guess it’s something about boldly declaring truth through song that arouses these emotions within me. Or maybe it’s the clarity that worship brings which reminds me of who God is and who I am not. Either way, the tears would always come. I was lucky if I could make it through the first few verses of this song, but if I did, I would for sure be a hot, blubbering mess by the last verse.Fast forward to my years post college when I attended my very first Beth Moore event, complete with an entire worship team of talented and anointed individuals who led us to the throne in worship to prepare our hearts for the Word that Beth would bring. Wow! I had been in many powerful worship settings in my life up until this point, but there was something “not of this world” that I experienced there. The power of the Holy Spirit fell so fresh and thick in that place, and I knew that I would need a box of tissues and not just one when they began to lead us in this song.I knew the words well. I had sung them 1000 times before. I had wept through them. I had rejoiced through them. These lyrics had been faithful to see me through just about every season someone can face on this side of heaven.Sometimes, the overly familiar can cause us to miss the extraordinary though.Just when I was about ready to settle back into the ways that God had used this song in my past, failing to expect Him to be the God who does a NEW THING in my present, the worship team broke out into a rendition of another hymn right in the middle of the song…a hymn that I also was familiar with but was not expecting—words that have served as my firm foundation for just about as long as I have been in Christ.On Christ the solid Rock I standAll other ground is sinking sandAll other ground is sinking sandOn Christ the solid Rock I standAll other ground is sinking sandAll other ground is sinking sandUndone. Simply undone in that moment.As I mentioned, I have found myself with this song again this week, a song that has made reappearances in my life several times over the past 15 years, but a song that I hadn’t listened to once this entire year…until this week. Are you dying to know yet?In Christ aloneMy hope is foundHe is my life, my strength, my songThis cornerstone, this solid groundFirm through the fiercest drought and stormWhat heights of Love, what depths of PeaceWhen fears are stilled, when strivings cease!My Comforter, my all in allHere in the love of Christ I stand.In Christ alone who took on fleshFullness of God in helpless babeThis gift of Love and RighteousnessScorned by the ones He came to saveTill on that cross as Jesus diedThe wrath of God was satisfiedFor every sin on Him was laidHere in the depth of Christ I liveThere in the ground, His body layLight of the world by darkness slainThen bursting forth in glorious dayUp from the grave He rose again!And as He stands in victorySin's curse has lost its grip on meFor I am His and He is mineBought with the precious blood of ChristOn Christ the solid Rock I standAll other ground is sinking sandAll other ground is sinking sandOn Christ the solid Rock I standAll other ground is sinking sandAll other ground is sinking sandNo guilt in life, no fear in deathThis the power of Christ in meFrom life's first cry, to final breathJesus commands my destinyNo power of hell, no scheme of manCan ever pluck me from His handTill He returns or call me homeHere in the power of Christ I'll standChrist alone is our firm foundation. He alone is the secure footing we are looking for in this insecure existence. Christ alone is the solid Rock upon which we can stand and know peace.ALL OTHER GROUND is sinking sand. All other ground isn’t necessarily bad, but our hopes better not be in all other ground because if they are, we’ll sink fast. Our hope is in Christ alone, and when we find our hope placed firmly in Him, we find ourselves soaring above the stormy waves of our circumstances, walking above the water instead of sinking into it.