Majestic jagged rocks scraped the clouds. My granddaughter explained, “Nana, these rocks were here a billion million years ago!” Oh yes, they’ve endured, standing firm when heavy wind, storms, and droughts beat strong. I imagined Biblical lands where people found shelter in rocky crevices. Rocks shaded people from blazing heat and wind, providing hiding places from enemies. Rocks offered permanent places for physical protection.
God’s Word is filled with metaphors of the many natural gifts He gave us in His created world. What a gift of His grace! We can then connect what we see with what He says in the Bible.
Looking at the towering rocks around me, I pondered the unchanging nature of rocks because God compares rocks to Himself in Scripture. Rocks are His picture of our spiritual protection, in the worst of suffering. What are rocks like?
- Strong
- Immovable, in the strongest of storms
- Secure
- Safe
- Solid
Then, who is God, in our strong storms, heat, or droughts?
Jesus is the cornerstone of a firm foundation
On this side of the cross, we now know these rocks point us to Jesus! He is our secure salvation (Acts 4:11-12), the cornerstone of a firm foundation (I Pet. 2:6). By Him, through Him, and for Him, all things (like rocks) were created (Col. 1:16). He’s holding the entire universe together (Heb. 1:3) and is holding you and me and all of His believing church together (Eph. 2:18-22).
Forgetting my Rock as I suffer
It’s so easy to forget Jesus when we wake up to chronic and strong storms, painful and harsh winds, every single morning. The pain screams at us to focus on our problems, doesn’t it? Satan wants nothing more than for us to forget God’s solid truth in His Word, for us to fixate on our problems, looking for help everywhere but our solid Rock. He especially wants nothing more than for us to forget the gospel and doubt our security and safety in Jesus Christ.
So, what’s my response as I battle the winds and droughts of life in this fallen world? How can I battle my own sinful forgetfulness?
I turn to the Rock of Ages in a “praise interruption.”
Wait in silence and call to my Rock of Ages for help
From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Ps. 61:2 ESV).
Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to thy cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the Fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.
(“Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me,” Toplady, A., 1776)
Remember God’s strong hold on me as I confess my sinful forgetfulness
For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge (Is. 17:10-11 ESV).
Rock of Ages, cleft for me
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy riven side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure,
cleanse me from its guilt and pow’r
Remember my salvation, in and from and by the Lord
Therefore thus says the Lord God,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed (Is. 28:16).
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’? (Mt. 21:42)
Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law’s demands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.
Drink deeply from His Word as the Holy Spirit helps me hear
For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ” (I Cor. 10:4b).
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (Jn. 4:14 ESV).
While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyelids close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Rock, and our Redeemer, amen.
Make a joyful noise and sing to my Rock of Ages!
This week’s playlist helps us sing to Jesus, our Rock, and our Redeemer. It gives us joy-filled lyrics, praising Him that He is solid, firm, a shelter for us in the storms we suffer. It gives us hope as we sing of our gospel hope in Christ. I pray it will help you to endure any suffering this week might bring, as you sing to your Rock of Ages, cleft for you. Sign up here to receive my weekly gospel-centered playlist gifts as Scriptural “praise interruptions” into your hard trial.
