Deuteronomy 32:4 "He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He."
Psalms 18:2 "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer: my God, my strength, in whom I will trust: my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."
If you are a child of God, you have that special person in your life that is a Rock...the Lord Jesus Christ! He is the One that can calm your heart in the midst of a sudden storm, the One to whom you can cling to when a crisis arises in your life. He is your comfort in sorrow. He holds you up when you are unable to stand on your own, guides you when you can't find your way. When your feet are firmly planted on the Rock, your sure foundation, you will be steady no matter how hard the winds of adversity blow against you. When you are hiding in the cleft of the Rock, you are safe.
Psalms 61:2 & 3 "From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I, For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy."
These two verses are among my very favorite verses. I have had many overwhelming circumstances to contend with over the years and I can say with certainty, that when I went to the Rock, I found a shelter for my battered heart. No one can protect and soothe an overwhelmed and hurt heart like the Lord Jesus. When we are covered with His hand, in the cleft of the Rock, not even the powers of Hell can hurt us!
Sometimes our hearts are overwhelmed because we are looking at the difficulties in our lives in the wrong way. Our all-knowing, loving, compassionate Heavenly Father allows things into our lives to help us grow as His child. A few years ago I ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks. While there my kidneys failed. My heart was overwhelmed; I didn't know why God was allowing this to happen to me. One night I was reading in Malachi chapter 3:3 "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver:...and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness." God was using this trial to refine me, to make me purer for Him. In the midst of this trial, when my heart was overwhelmed, I found shelter in the Rock.
In Acts chapter 16:25 we see Paul and Silas singing and praying to the Lord while chained in the depths of a Roman prison. "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God:" Their overwhelmed hearts had found peace in the Rock of their salvation, and they could sing in the midst of the storm. In Daniel chapter 6:16 we see Daniel cast into the den of lions because he would not stop praying to God. Daniel was human and I imagine as he turned and saw those hungry lions he was overwhelmed. But the next morning he was able to testify to the King, who had ordered him thrown in with the lions, (vs 22) "My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." Daniel found strength and comfort in the Rock of his salvation, His God.
We serve the same almighty God that Paul, Silas and Daniel served. They knew that God was their Rock. Why do we falter so much when hard times descend on us? Is our faith so small that we cannot face difficulties without crumbling? We take our eyes off the Rock and look at the storm. We need to remember that there is no storm that can penetrate the protection of the Rock of our salvation!
David faced many enemies and persecutions, yet he was able to say with certainty in 2 Samuel 22:47
"The LORD liveth: and blessed be my rock: and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation."
In Exodus 33 we find the story of Moses asking God to show him His glory.
Exodus 33:20 - 22 "And He (God) said, thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see me and live. And the LORD said, behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:"
The almighty glory of God could not be seen by man, so God protected Moses in the cleft of the rock, He covered Moses with His hand! What a wonderful picture of the protection that He still gives to His children when they need a place of safety.
Psalms 86:7 "In the day of my trouble I will call upon Thee: for Thou wilt answer me."
Psalms 142:3 "When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path."
Isaiah 41:13 "For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not: I will help thee."
What wonderful promises from the Rock of our salvation! Where are you hiding? Are you fleeing to the world for help, safety and protection when the storms of adversity start pounding you? Or are you running to the Rock, are you trusting in the loving protection of God? There is only one place of perfect protection and peace. Ask your Heavenly Father to hide you in the cleft of the Rock and to cover you there with His hand, there is no safer place for you to be.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.
With numberless blessings, each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, "O glory to God,
For such a Redeemer as mine!"
When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky:
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
I'll shout with the millions on high.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
Fanny J. Crosby
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