The Solid Rock

 

   One of my fondest memories of growing up in northern New Hampshire in the 60’s and 70’s was being surrounded by the natural beauty of the White Mountains and the cascading radiance of the Presidential Range landscape that surrounded my home where I lived. One of nature’s grand wonders in the North Country was the natural rock formation that became known as “The Old Man of the Mountain”, made internationally famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne back in the early 1900’s in his short story called “The Great Stone Face”.

   The “Old Man of the Mountain” remained a huge tourist attraction for over 200 years until nature once again took its toll and, undone by natural erosion, the “Old Man of the Mountain” eventually broke apart and fell down the Franconia Notch mountainside in May of 2003.

   The Bible reminds us that there is a solid rock that will never break and whose foundation will never crumble – that Rock is Jehovah God, the Almighty.  Moses in making his final declaration to the Nation of Israel before his death, spoke to them reminding them of the awesomeness of the one true God:

“For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
Ascribe greatness to our God!
⁴ “The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are^]just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.” Deut 32:4 (emphasis added)

What a wonderful reminder for the children of God. That in a world of uncertainty, with social values that change like shifting sand, with evil and godlessness seemingly running rampant, one thing we can be sure of is that our God is solid and unchanging – a very present help in times of trouble (Ps.46:1). A glorious note of assurance in these turbulent and decadent times.

   The question each child of God needs to ask themselves on a daily basis is ‘Am I building my life on a true and solid foundation?’

Jesus gives us the simple answer in His parable on the two foundations, found in Matthew chapter 7, when He said,

 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.” (emphasis added) 

   When we take the words of Jesus from God’s Holy Bible, and make a dedicated effort to have them become a viable & purposeful facet of our everyday way of life, Jesus says then we will have the wisdom needed to face life with an assured confidence and trust like no other, no matter how the tides of circumstance flow.

   What solid rock are you building your life on today? There is truly only one you can trust - the Almighty God of heaven and earth. He will never let you down. He is the Omniscient and all-powerful God of the universe, who wants to hold you in the palm of His hands and to bless you to the fullest. He has given you His only begotten Son and asks you to trust Jesus like you trust Him. Jesus says the only way to do this is by listening to His every word and living our lives according to that word. That’s as solid as it can get.

“On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”  William Bradbury – “The Solid Rock”

Br. Dennis