One of my favorite hymns is “The Solid Rock”, written by Edward Mote in 1834.

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.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

What is your hope built on?

Do you find yourself relying on your own abilities? (Guilty!) Do you find yourself putting your hope in other people or circumstances? (Yes and yes.) Are you often disappointed in those things? I am.

People fail. External circumstances can’t be controlled. And I’m so far from perfect it’s not funny. We live in a broken world. No wonder so many people feel hopeless!



We often think of hope as an uncertainty. “I really hope I get that promotion” or “I hope I passed that test!” But Christian hope is putting your trust in God’s promise, in Christ. It is having confidence that something will happen because God has promised it.

Curious about God’s promises? These are excellent memory verses on the promises on God. (A quick google search yields hundreds of resources, Bible studies, devotionals, and prayer books dedicated to the promises of God.)

Having hope in Christ doesn’t mean everything is always going to work out the way we want it. Our hope in Christ is so much more- it’s our faith in Christ’s resurrection- that He’s gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us. (John 14:3) Our future is secured by God. And that is the only thing worth building hope on.

• Romans 5:5 says, “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”