2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The pathways that God leads me on are not only revealing, but they are perfectly timed. Why should I be surprised since He is doing the guiding!? He wanted me to know and to tell you that He is my Rock. When we think about finding a place to build a home, we surely don’t want to choose ground that isn’t solid or materials that won’t withstand the elements. The same is true when we are deciding what we should believe and how we should respond to our circumstances. As I was thinking about this, the Lord put the melody of the hymn “The Solid Rock” in my mind. The words to its refrain express the attitude my faith has given me. “On Christ, the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” A number of Scripture citations really reveal God as my Rock.
You all know the Hebrews wandering in the desert grumbled and complained when God, through Moses, led them to places where it wasn’t real obvious they would find food and water. Their faith was spotty at best. EX 17: 5-6 is where God equips Moses to demonstrate He will provide what His people need. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go on ahead of the people. I will stand before you on a rock at Mt. Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.‘ Moses did so in the presence of the leaders of Israel.” There are some real spiritual issues in this beside the obvious that God was empowering Moses to perform a miracle here. God reveals Himself as our Provider and He also reveals His power here. Stop and consider Who is also known as the Rock-Jesus Christ. Consider what Christ said in JN 7: 37-38, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink. As the Scriptures say [EZK 47: 1; ZECH 14: 8-9] whoever believes in Me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart.” This is one of many examples of where Christ, through not named, is present in the OT in my humble opinion. Can you imagine how frustrated God must feel with those for whom He continues to provide and who go on missing the point? Yet, He loves them so much that He doesn’t give on them. We shouldn’t miss the point that Moses obeyed God’s command even through in human experience it would seem ridiculous to strike a rock and expect water to flow out in such a desolate place as the desert. Note how that obedience serves God’s people.
Another incident that has some pretty hefty spiritual implications happens in EX 33: 20-22. God speaks to Moses saying, “I will not let you see My face, because no one can see me and stay alive, but here is a place beside Me where you can stand on a rock. When the dazzling light of My presence passes by, I will put you in an opening in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.” When we put this incident in the light of what has been revealed to us in the NT, isn’t God saying we can’t perceive Him with our human limitations, but He will make Himself known by His Son, Whom He made incarnate? Christ really did live with us, make the Father’s will known to us, and is in a form we can, through our faith, really perceive. See how God reveals His compassion in this incident with Moses? Christ was sent to us as a sin sacrifice, sufficient in His death on the cross to cover our sins. Just as Moses’ life is saved by being covered by the rock and God’s hand, ours is saved by Christ’s blood shed on the cross!
I have spoken recently of the story of how God commissioned Gideon, the least important member of the weakest family of Israel to defeat the Midianites, who were troubling the Jews at that time. God not only commissioned him to carry out this task, but He also equipped him to do it successfully, dependent on Gideon’s willingness to obey. Gideon not only was obedient, he also revered and was faithful to God. Once God’s angel tells him he will defeat the Midianites, Gideon makes an offering to the Lord. Judges 6: 19-21, “…Gideon put the meat into a basket and the broth in a pot, brought them to the Lord’s Angel under an oak tree, and gave them to Him. ‘Put the meat and bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them, ‘ the Angel told him. Gideon did so. Then the Lord’s Angel reached out and touched the meat and the bread with the end of a stick He was holding. Fire came out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the Angel disappeared.” God reveals His appreciation for those who show him reverence and obedience here. The mental picture of fire coming up out of the rock leads me to consider the rock, a symbol of Christ, and fire, often a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Can it be that Christ and the Spirit are present here? The disappearance of God’s Angel afterward would indicate to me that the Lord had deemed this offering acceptable and that He knew Gideon’s obedience to Him would allow His will to be carried out. Gideon was allowing God to use him to do His work.
God reveals Himself as our Rock in the words of David in the Psalms. PS 18: 2, “The Lord is my Rock, my strong Fortress. My God is my Protector and with Him I am safe. He protects me like a shield. He defends me and keeps me safe.” The depth of David’s faith is seen in his trust for God eloquently expressed in PS 31: 3. “For You are my Rock and my Fortress; guide me and lead me as You have promised.” How many of us are willing to allow God to use us any way He wants, even if that leads us to do things or be in places of which we never dreamed?
We are called upon by these Scriptural examples to examine the nature of our own faith. We need to see how willing to obey God we are even when His commands don’t obey the physical laws of nature or make complete sense to us. No one can answer the question of how far will our faith let us go in obeying God for us. We need to find the answer for that ourselves with God’s help. There were more Scriptures for me to share on how God reveals Himself as my Rock than could include in this message, so I’ll have more on this tomorrow. In the meanwhile, join me in this prayer:
PRAYER: O Lord, You are an awesome God! You love us so much that You want to be constantly present in our lives. You want us to allow You to direct our lives, so as to put ourselves on solid ground by our obedience. You are our Rock and our Redeemer. Help us to see that faith in You is really the only way to avoid sinking sand. Know that we return the love you have for us by our willingness to obey You, even when the nature or Your timing of these commands doesn’t make perfect sense to us. We dedicate ourselves to putting our trust in You. In Christ’s name, amen.
You will never stand on more solid ground than when you put your faith and trust in the Lord Who loves you. Make Him the Lord of your life, and you will be forever blessed. I can testify to His presence blessing my own life and hope that it is doing the same with yours today and always. Peter and I send you our love.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn