“There is but one stable ground on which to stand: Christ the solid rock.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 13, 2026
He will be the stability of your times. Isaiah 33:6a
Stability is such a fickle friend. For one brief moment, you take a deep breath and enjoy the sensation of all being well. And then… you get a call from a family member, your health falters, the economy tanks, the global scene is in a state of tension… you name it! Were truer words ever spoken than Jesus’ declaration, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33)? When those certain troubles overwhelm us like an incoming tidal wave, we may grasp for stability wherever we can lay a hand on it. We look to doctors, politicians, our financial savings, anything to tell us that all will be well. But every lifeboat we try has a hole in it – it may bear us aloft for that one breath, and then we’re sinking again. Is there hope that our feet may ever reach solid, stable ground? Oh, but there is. And not just in the ‘someday’, but we can know stability now, in the midst of life’s storms and the world’s wobbliness.
Isaiah penned those words – “He will be the stability of your times.” – in a truly tumultuous time for Israel. Likewise, it was to a bunch of disciples facing imprisonment and martyrdom that Jesus made his parting promise, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Were these words of empty comfort? Is peace nothing more than closing one’s eyes to the harsh realities of the world? On the contrary.
In a sermon on Christian peace, Jonathan Edwards hits the nail on the head of what makes Christ’s peace the only real, substantiated peace there is. He says, “the peace of the world is founded in blindness and delusion. The peace that the people of Christ have arises from having their eyes open and seeing things as they are” (Edwards, “The Peace Which Christ Gives His True Followers”). The world says peace comes from living in the moment and not thinking too hard about reality. Christian peace comes from thinking deeply about reality – the reality that Christ has paid all for us to secure our adoption and our future. The world says stability is the outcome of good circumstances. Christian stability is fixed on the love of God that cannot be shaken, “though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:2). Truly, the world has no stability to offer, but “Take heart,” our Savior says; for “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, this world is a shaky place. Thank you that you have overcome it and that, with you, I stand on stable ground that can never be shaken. Help me, by your Spirit, to hold fast to you as my anchor and know your peace in every season. Amen.
Application
Where do you look for stability and peace? Ask the Lord to help you let go of any counterfeits you’ve relied on and take hold of the only true peace which he offers.
Related Reading
Isaiah 32:1-2; Luke 2:14; Romans 8; 2 Corinthians 4:8; Hebrews 6:19
Worship Resource
Michael W. Smith: In Christ Alone
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