Who is Jesus?

“For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame,’” (1 Peter 2:6).

Some days feel steady and secure. Others can feel uncertain, like the ground beneath us is shifting. Plans don’t unfold the way we hoped. People let us down. Emotions rise and fall. In those moments, it becomes clear how easy it is to build our lives on things that aren’t meant to hold us.

There were a couple of days this past week that were a little rough. One day I was struggling to get things unpacked and arrange my new house the way I wanted. At one point, I was wrestling with a closet organizer when I heard a huge crash followed by sounds of glass breaking into hundreds of pieces. I had hung my beautiful but heavy antique mirror on a wall in the living room about an hour before this. Needless to say, my hanging efforts were subpar.

Had I taken the time to hang that mirror correctly, I wouldn’t have fallen. I should have located the stud on the wall, used the proper hanging equipment, and had someone help me. However, in my determination to get things done quickly, I took a shortcut and put it up myself using self-adhesive hanging strips, trusting it would hold.

My hope was misplaced in a thing not made to withstand the weight of something so big. Therefore, instead of being a centerpiece on my wall, the mirror is now at the home of a restorer who can hopefully fix it. However, due to the damage from the fall, it can’t be repaired exactly as it once was.

That mirror is like a metaphor for our lives. Sometimes we rely on ourselves or others to meet expectations or carry burdens that are impossible to uphold by human means alone. When things collapse around us, sometimes those relationships or situations become irreparable or experience enough damage that they can never be fully restored.

The day after the mirror fiasco was a day I experienced more of an internal battle. The past I swore I’d leave behind slowly crept back in unexpectedly and ruined my mood. Luckily, that was short-lived as God has placed people in my life who help to stabilize me, to stand me back up when I fall, and to refocus on the things that truly matter. They are a strong and solid presence when things get a little tough, and I’m so grateful for them. They remind me to let go of my stubbornness and the things I can’t control and give them over to the Lord, trusting in Him to support me when I need help.

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken,” (Psalm 62:1-2).

I experienced a little frustration this weekend as well. I had plans and for the past week had been preparing for those, and they just didn’t go the way I had hoped. It’s not that I didn’t have a great time anyway, it just wasn’t exactly what I expected or had planned for, and I let that get to me more than it should have. Things happen and plans change sometimes, but it can be hard when you spend time, effort, and money preparing for something that doesn’t occur.

Despite the hiccups, stressors, and disappointments that come with life, I know there is a steady and solid presence beside me in my Savior. I need reminders to quit relying on myself to accomplish everything, stop letting trivial things get to me, and refrain from setting high expectations that aren’t likely to be met because Jesus alone is my rock-not me and certainly not anyone else. “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal,” (Isaiah 26:4).

If we pay attention, we can easily find gentle reminders both in scripture and within our lives that Jesus is our Chief Cornerstone-the firm, unchanging foundation our hearts yearn for and on whom we should rely.

“Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved,” (Acts 4:11-12).

A cornerstone isn’t just another piece of the structure, it’s the stone that sets the direction, the alignment, and the stability for everything else. Without it, nothing else holds together quite right.

When I try to hold everything together on my own, I feel the weight of it. Just like those Velcro hanging strips, when the load gets too heavy, I fail and things come crashing down. However, when my focus comes back to Jesus, and when I pause, pray, and surrender, I’m reminded that I was never meant to be the foundation for anything. He is.

Maybe today you feel stretched thin or unsettled. Maybe something in your life feels “off,” and you can’t quite explain why. Maybe it is a nudge from God inviting you to realign your heart with Him.

For Jesus is steady when everything else feels uncertain. He is faithful when others fall short. When your life is built on Him, you can stand with confidence, not because of your strength, but because of His.

Think on these questions: What have you been leaning on lately for security or identity? Have you truly been building your life on Jesus? If I answer those questions honestly, I will have to admit my failures.

It’s just like the song we sing in Children’s Church about the wise and the foolish man that comes from scripture in Matthew 7:24-27. “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. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When the struggles of life tumble down upon us, if we’re standing firm on the foundation that is Jesus, we will always survive the storm. It may beat us up a little bit at times and we might come out with a few scars, but we won’t collapse. Any other foundation apart from Jesus is weak and unreliable and eventually will falter, usually pulling us down with it.

Therefore, don’t build your life on or around things that don’t last. Rest in Jesus and realign your heart with His truth today. Allow Him to become your foundation in every area of your life. “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ,” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11).

Remember and find comfort in the knowledge that you don’t have to hold everything together, and honestly, you can’t do so alone even if you try. Instead, rely on the One who is always holding you-Jesus our firm foundation, our Chief Cornerstone.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit,” (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Have a blessed week!

-Becky