INFLUENCE

Recently, I went on a hike through a Wildlife Sanctuary with a few of my friends. It had been raining heavily, and after walking for about an hour and a half, we finally reached a large rock formation. The rock looked as though it had been split open, leaving behind a huge cleft. A few steps further, we came across a massive waterfall. The water came crashing down with tremendous force. The sound was overwhelming, and the sheer power of the waterfall was something to behold.

The storm didn't have to disappear for us to feel safe. We simply needed to know where our shelter was.

And yet, there was something strangely serene about standing in the cleft of that rock. Although it was still pouring outside, as long as we stayed under the shelter of the rock, it almost felt as though it wasn't raining at all. The waterfall was right there, just a few steps away, but somehow, it did not bother us either. 

It made me think of how often David describes God as the Rock throughout the Psalms. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.” -Psalm 18:2 David knew what it meant to face storms. He knew fear, uncertainty, betrayal, danger and loss. Yet, again and again, he returned to the same truth: God was his Rock. The interesting thing about a rock is that it doesn't necessarily stop the storm. But the rock provides a place to stand when everything around you feels unstable.

That day in the Wild Life Sanctuary reminded me that God's protection does not always mean that He removes the storm from our lives. Sometimes, His protection looks like giving us a place to take refuge within the storm. Perhaps that is what faith often looks like. Just as the rock covering deflected the torrential downpour overhead, God acts as a shelter over our minds and hearts. When the ground underneath the trail became muddy and slick, the rock remained firm beneath our feet.

God's covering is unlike anything else we can find. His protection is unlike anything else we can experience. And the stability He offers is not dependent on how calm our circumstances are.

David says: “He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”- Psalm 62:6 That day, standing beneath that cleft in the rock, I understood this verse a little differently. The storm didn't have to disappear for us to feel safe. We simply needed to know where our shelter was.

In Exodus 33, when Moses asked to see God’s glory, God told him that no man could see His face and live. So God placed Moses in the cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand as His glory passed by (Exodus 33:22). Centuries later, the hymn writer Augustus Toplady captured this truth in the classic words: "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee."

Through Christ, that cleft is always open. Whatever downpour you might be walking through today, remember that you don't have to fight the storm on your own strength. Step into the shelter, stand firm on the solid foundation, and let God be your refuge.