I got up this morning dreading the day. With coffee in hand, I headed to my desk to read the psalms and find solace. I read the first words on the page and tears cascaded down my face. I cried till the Kleenex ran out.
Today is one of those days when life hurts. I feel blindsided by people who did not respect me. I feel like God let me down. I feel frustrated with my prospects and where to go from here.
Now what?
This is when faith meets me at the crossroad. This is when faith is tested and refined—times when nothing makes sense and I can’t see a way forward.
“My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation
He is my fortress.
I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2
So ironic, because this is one of the psalms I am teaching this summer at my church. I’ve been working on it for several days. Time to put into practice what I teach.
What does it mean that God is my rock, that he alone is my rock?
Israel is a land of rocks—they’re everywhere. But David, who wrote this psalm, is not thinking about stones here. He has in mind the photo above. That’s the kind of rock he’s talking about. These rocks are solid—symbols of strength. And they’re not going anywhere.
The metaphor of God as a rock is used twenty times in the psalms. Our God is strong and dependable—someone you can count on when everything else crumbles. God is our solid rock. He will not change. And he will not move.
Sometimes we say things like, “My husband is my rock,” “My best friend is my rock,” “My dad is my rock.” Can we have a moment of honesty here? People let us down—even when they don’t mean to. People change. Sometimes they back away, sometimes they move away. No one is 100% reliable—I can’t even count on myself. You and I are restricted by our own limitations. Good intentions will take us only so far.
God alone is my Rock. He is the only stability in my life. I will not be shaken from this conviction. If it seems like God has let me down, that’s because I don’t have the whole picture. I see only a portion of what he sees. His character never changes and his good plan for me never wavers.
When life disappoints me and threatens to pull me down, when circumstances rattle my equilibrium, I will cling to my Rock, and seek rest for my soul. I will walk by faith and not by sight.
God alone is my Rock and I will trust him. He will not change. And he will not move.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Janet, dear sister,
God has brought you to mind, and I have been praying, and just thought “today I need to send her a note . . .”
After waking up several times in the night, frustrated with some things happening here, that I can’t control and don’t like —
I read Psalm 141, and began praying through and repenting and being so thankful that God is my true refuge as well as my rock.
The repenting — for my thoughts that I had allowed to start brewing — self-righteous, judgmental, uncharitable
The rejoicing — God had set a guard over my mouth! He awoke me in the night to remind me that what I say matters; He gave me His Word to remind me that He cares about what frustrates me and saddens me.
God is my Rock and Refuge — and He equips me to escape the snare of the enemy. Oh, how much better it is to repent of “ugly” thoughts and renew my mind, than to have to clean up the mess my careless words have made!!
Thank you, Janet, for encouraging me to memorize God’s Word. It has transformed and renewed my prayer life, and my thought life. God’s Word keeps me from despair and has made my heart tender toward others. His Word has heightened my love for my Savior.
Thank you Janet for your wonderful encouragement from God’s word. What a wonderful blessing you are to always point us back to God no matter what the highs or lows we may encounter. I echo Beverly in thanking you for encouraging me to memorize God’s word. Growing to know my Savior better has blessed more than I can ever express. Know that God has and is using you in mighty!! ways!!!
Thank you Beverly and Lise, I wrote the blog on Saturday, and I’m not crying today, so I’ve made progress.
Janet may the Lord flood your mind and heart with all of His Words that He has allowed you to memorize and give you peace. Thank you for being so vulnerable and always reminding us to trust only in Him.
My encouragement to you is that your post has, despite not giving specifics about your situation, been an encouragement to me. I was just quipping a few weeks ago to my pastor that everything had been going so well–no real problems, no major stressors–and I wondered if God was about to bring something stressful into my life. I said it tongue in cheek because I know that just because God gives times of relative calm, he’s not just waiting in the wings, ready to throw you a curveball. Whereas the ups and downs of life are consistent, this capricious view of God is not really accurate.
Aaaanyway, a couple of weeks ago that stressor came and it’s not the biggest deal in the world, just a bit of strife within extended family, (I tried to write out the story in short-form but I’m too long winded and it got too long so I erased it, ha). Bottom line is that this is an opportunity from God to grow in integrity and character and give this situation up to the Lord. Romans 12 comes to mind: Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”
Thank you for being vulnerable, Janet. It helps us all as we remember that we are still on the “sanctification” side of life and not yet the glorification side, to which we look forward with great expectation. I’m glad for the reminder that our Rock is available to us on both sides of glory.
Angela, thank you so much. The words you shared from Romans are words of truth that bring us all back to the standard we all desire for our lives. It is counter-intuitive and counter-cultural. Words of truth give perspective and renewed strength to our fragile lives.