The verse of the day on YouVersion is Isaiah 40:8:
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
As I try to never read a verse in isolation, I went back to the verses before and after. While verse 8 is a wonderful truth on its own, its impact deepens when read in context.
Isaiah 40:6b says:
“All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.”
Verse 7 continues:
“The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.”
And then comes verse 8:
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
The contrast is striking. People are like grass, fragile and fleeting. When God’s breath passes over us, we fade. So where should I put my hope, my trust, and my affection? In the temporary, ever-changing presence of people? Or in the unchanging, eternal Word of God?
I am in a season of learning to place my hope in Him alone. People will disappoint; circumstances will shift. Like grass, relationships and earthly supports come and go. But God’s love and His promises endure forever.
This truth reminds me of the beloved hymn My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less:
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.
Each verse points back to the same foundation: Christ alone, the Rock that will not move. His covenant, His blood, His grace — these are unshakable when everything else gives way.
So as I walk through this time of testing, my prayer is simple: to keep my eyes fixed on Him. To find joy not in the withering grass of this world, but in His unfailing, eternal love — the solid Rock on which I stand.