The Rock On Which I Stand

Life is crazy right now. I need a firm foundation, a hiding place, safe place. I need Jesus who is also called (among many great names) the Rock. I need the Rock because I feel like I’m in shifting sand. I’m living in a house with no furniture and minimal supplies. We’ve packed everything, but we’ve hit a speed-bump and cannot put the house on the market yet. Best made plans, my friends . . . they usually don’t turn out that way. It’s a long story, too long to explain, but as I sat at our plastic folding table on a folding chair in the kitchen, trying to decide which title/name of Jesus we would study this month, my very good friend, Diana, wisely prompted my search. She said, “What do you need right now? That’s probably what many of your readers need.”

Do you need the Rock too? Does it feel like your world is shifting sand right now? Certainly the political climate and the world’s instability stirs our need for the Rock. But I have a feeling that many of you are also going through hard things like a difficult job, marital problems, or a toxic relationship. Maybe you’re facing a scary diagnosis, or you have no idea how you’re going to pay this month’s rent, or maybe you are disappointed with God suffering through grief. These challenges make life hard to maneuver. They slow our progress and make the journey difficult as we sink with every step in the shifting sandy depths, and if we’re honest, this shifting sand affects our trust in God’s goodness and Jesus’s faithfulness.

Water from the rock in the Old Testament

The Israelites knew what it was like to sink with every step in the desert’s sandy mounds. They lived in the desert for forty years! That makes my house-camping look like the Ritz Carlton. But I digress. Let’s peruse the Old Testament and see where we find the Rock, and how the sandy desert affected the Israelites’ faith. In one scene we find that the people needed water, and they began to doubt Moses and God’s goodness–the very God who led them out of Egypt and split the Red Sea.

The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.  And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:5-7)

They questioned if the Lord was with them. Oh man, does that speak to anybody else? Sometimes in those desert seasons when life is not turning out as we planned, God can seem absent. May this story remind us of His presence and goodness, but let’s don’t miss the significance of the Rock and what poured out of it–life-giving water. They got water from a rock! Isn’t that just like God. The provision often comes from the least likely places. But this story is not only about provision, presence, or God’s faithfulness even to gripey, unfaithful people; this story points to Jesus.

living water from the rock in the new testament

In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul connects this Old Testament miracle to Jesus, the Rock of our salvation–the Rock who gives us living water. He uses Israel’s history to warn them:

They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10:3-5)

I am so thankful I live on the other side of the Cross, aren’t you? Jesus is not only the Rock from where we can drink, He is the Living Water that quenches our parched souls. He promised this living water to a Samaritan woman one hot dusty day. She was so focused on her physical needs, she didn’t understand what He offered at first, but I believe as she spoke face to face with the Rock of her Salvation, her spiritual thirst became satisfied. She had experienced the living water He had offered. Her thirst satisfied, she ran with great joy back to the village, to her desert place, to invite other thirsty people to meet Jesus, the Messiah.

protection, power, and faithfulness

The Rock, however, symbolizes more than a source for living water, the Rock can be found all through the Old Testament in reference to God as a source of protection, power, and faithfulness. Read God’s words in Isaiah:

“Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
    Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
    No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” (Isaiah 44:8)

God is proclaiming His power, protection, and unmovable presence. As the Rock, He is the one true God who will not fail. He will provide for His people, and He is mighty to save. The Rock is also the symbol of the place of refuge and strength–a stronghold to protect and hide from enemies. David proclaims this truth in Psalm 62.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62: 5-8)

David cried out to the people to trust in the Rock. My friends, this is the key. We must hold onto our faith of His goodness and presence–He will not abandon nor forsake us. Oh that when we find ourselves in thirsty desert places, clogging our way through deep sand, we don’t turn into grumpy, distrusting, and complaining people like the Israelites. If you’re like me, and you really want to experience the safety, power, and living water of the Rock we must do what Jesus told His disciples. We must stand on His Word.

Building our life on the rock

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 7, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7: 24). He explained this promise by telling a story of a man who built his house on the sand and another who built on a rock. When the storms came, the foolish builder’s home was destroyed, but the wise man’s home stood firm. Listen to Jesus’s explanation: “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (Matthew 7: 26).

So, it’s one thing to read God’s Word and Jesus’s teachings, but they don’t become our firm foundation until we practice them–we live them out. He is not our Rock unless we trust Him.

Bible Reading plan

Join me this month studying scriptures about the Rock. (You can download the printable here.) I believe these verses will be encouraging and strengthening. It will be my prayer for us to practice these truths daily. You may even grab a journal for your quiet time and each day write down how you can apply each truth. Remember, when we actually practice the Truth, the winds can blow, the rain can fall, but we will be okay. Our Rock will not fail. Our Rock, Jesus. Let’s pray.

A Prayer to trust the rock

“Jesus, our Rock, help us trust you. We need your grace to enable us to practice your words, to not just read them quickly every day, but to walk them out. Don’t let us doubt your presence and provision. May we simply ask, giving you our requests, and trusting your timing and perfect resources. Lord, I pray for all who will work through this reading plan this month that they will take time every day to apply each verse to their situation–their desert place. We place our trust in you, and from this day forward we build our life on your Word, not our own wisdom or imagination. I pray for “right now” words for all reading through this plan. Amen and amen.”

Faith Fridays

Join me on Instagram @wordsbyandylee on Fridays at 9:00 AM ET to unpack some of these scriptures and further study Jesus as our Rock! Bring your coffee, Bible, and journal. Hope you can join our little fellowship. You can also find more teaching on my YouTube channel @andyleebible.