April 2—The Solid Rock

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. (“The Solid Rock” by Edward Mote)

As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. (Luke 23:26–27 NLT)

When kinesiology undergraduate Julie Moss decided that running the Ironman Triathlon in Oahu, Hawaii, would be her senior research project, she didn’t take it too seriously. The Ironman was only in its fifth year in 1982, the year Moss ran, so it was still a relatively new event. In interviews after the race was over, Moss said she did not undertake any special training to prepare for the 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bicycle ride, and 26.2-mile marathon. Yet it was not her rookie status that propelled her to fame, even when she was in first place with the finish line in sight. Instead, her fame stems from what took place in those final yards of the race. Moss’s body refused to cooperate any longer, and she collapsed on the ground. Each time she got up, she was only able to walk a couple of feet before she collapsed again. She eventually resorted to crawling across the finish line after another athlete had already taken the first place spot.

Many of us attempt to be like Julie Moss, tackling life head on with only our sheer determination and innate skills to back us up. We might rely on friends and colleagues every now and again, but we pride ourselves on being self-made. Yet, there is only so far we can get through our own volition. Eventually, all of us fail, collapsing on the ground, unable to go any farther without someone to assist us. It’s often in these moments – just before or after the collapse – that we finally seek out Jesus to sustain us. Instead, the better response should be to wholly lean on Jesus’s name in every instance. He knows what it means to need the assistance of others in moments of weakness, as well as moments of strength, and He will not fail to answer us when we call on His name.

What are the moments where you should be leaning on Jesus’s name but haven’t been? Especially in the midst of this global pandemic, how can you put this into practice in your day-to-day life?

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