Day 21: Jesus, You Are My Rock & My Strong Foundation

It’s pouring rain outside and I’m up early getting ready to drive to Costa Mesa for a booksigning at a Calvary Chapel Conference. California freeways in the rain are a challenge. So I’m leaving earlier than normal to make sure I have enough time. Rain and freeway driving to the coast can add 2-3 hours to a 2-hour trip. The Lord must have known how I was feeling. I read Matthew 7:24-25 and just smiled: “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. 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.” When we read these words we must ask ourselves, “Where is my faith? Do I stand on the rock-solid Person, Works, and Words of Jesus? Or am I standing on the shifting sands of feelings and ever-changing circumstances? Jesus is the “chief cornerstone” (Matthew 21:42), my foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11), and the living stone (1 Peter 1:4-6). I can say along with David, “I love You, O Lord my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

The Lord Jesus showed me His solid rock nature today and has assured me of His constant presence and steadfast care. I can’t help but think of Fanny Crosby’s lyrics to one of my favorite hymns:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
Oh what a fortress of glory divine.
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Fanny Crosby, blind from the age of 6 months, lived to age 95, and in her lifetime, wrote more than 9,000 hymns. She enjoyed an intimate fellowship with Jesus. Two stories come to mind that betray her steadfast faith in Jesus, the rock, and her strong foundation. A pastor once said to Fanny, “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you,” She immediately replied, “Do you know if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?” Shocked, the pastor asked, “Why?” “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.” I love that story because in it you see an unwavering faith in the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Then, one day at a Bible conference in Northfield, Massachusetts, D.L. Moody asked Fanny Crosby to give a personal testimony. At first she hesitated, but then quietly rose and said, “There is one hymn I have written which has never been published. I call it my soul’s poem. Sometimes when I am troubled, I repeat it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart. She then recited the following words while many in the audience wept:

Someday the silver cord will break
And I no more as now shall sing
But oh, the joy when I shall wake
Within the Palace of the King!
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story-saved by grace!

Well, dear Fanny Crosby is now face to face in the Presence of her Savior. On her grave in Bridgeport, Connecticut there is a simple headstone with the words, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.”

Stand on the rock today, dear friend, and no matter how hard the rain falls, you won’t be swept away.

My Response: Lord Jesus, thank You for meeting me in the deep places of my heart today. You are completely dependable, my strong rock and refuge. I’m standing tall with my faith resting completely in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.