God is My Rock

Moses, the servant of the LORD, who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land, when the end of his life was near, said: 

“I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4; NIV)

Moses knew God intimately, having been blessed to speak directly with his God through the Angel of His Presence. Moses had learned to believe God’s word, to obey and to trust in Him, until the end of his days. Just before his death, Moses blessed the 12 tribes of Israel, saying: 

“There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you.” (Deuteronomy 33:26-27; NLT)

What a blessing to feel those arms supporting us, knowing that God will also be our refuge!

Similarly, King David, who God said was a ‘man after His own heart’, “walked” with God throughout his life. In all his trials, and there were many, David speaks of his dependence on God. 

In Psalm 18, David said:

“I love you, LORD; you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.” (Psalm 18:1-2; NLT)

Further on in the Psalm, David says: 

“For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock?” (Psalm 18:31; NLT)

Who, indeed! Who but our God is always, unfailingly there? We may have had someone in our life whom we trusted; someone we thought would always be there for us, only to be disappointed and forsaken in a time of need. Mankind, being weak, is unable to ‘always be there’.

 As the Psalmist said: 

“It is better to take shelter in the LORD than to trust in people.” (Psalm 118:8; NET)  

Some rocks are soft and easily broken, but some are so very hard that they can be used as a foundation on which to build a house.

In the New Testament, we learn that our Rock (God) has provided, through his Son, Jesus Christ, a sure foundation for us to build our “spiritual” house on. 

The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly mirrored his Father’s character throughout his time on earth, as he went about, proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people (Matthew 4:23). He spoke to his disciples and to the multitudes that followed him, many wise sayings, building upon His Father’s commandments and applying those commandments to the requirements of discipleship as followers of Jesus. 

Our ‘house’ is what we do with our lives: what we believe, whose example we follow, how we act toward our fellow man, and where we place our faith.  In Luke 6, just before he tells his followers a parable about two builders, one wise and one foolish, Jesus said: 

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” (Luke 6:47-48; ESV)

The foolish man, however, took the easy way and built his house upon the sand. Jesus said: 

“But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:49; ESV)

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son; Jesus gave his very life, that we might have life eternal. This is the sure foundation upon which we can place our faith.

The Kingdom of God awaits those who stand on the firm foundation built on The Rock! God has promised eternal life to those who believe and love His commandments; to those who earnestly await the return of His Son and the establishment of His Kingdom on this earth!

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32; ESV)