How is He my rock?

There is so much beauty in St. Barths.  One of the things my family and I loved to do while we lived there as missionaries was to go exploring.  The beaches were my favorite. My kids loved to go to the rocky places and chase goats.

  We had heard about "Washing Machine Beach" a bunch. I found a video on youtube of the natural pool.  I'll never forget the day Josh and I decided to hike there.  The hike was absolutely gorgeous!!  We walked and talked and had a great time as Momma and Son.  Then, we saw it....a gorgeous, natural blue pool. It was a little bit of a steep, winding, climb down, but we made it. We swam for a bit.  We pulled out our backpack and had a snack.  We swam some more.  Then, we decided to head back.  I had the bright idea of instead of coming back the way we came we could climb over the steep rocks and get back to the path. Much easier and quicker!  Hopefully?

As we climbed out, my brave son lead the way.  He's pretty awesome.  We were almost to the top when I started to slip.  I looked downward and realized I was pretty far from the bottom.  I began to panic.  I mean really panic.  I was crying out, "Dear Lord, help me!"  My sweet Josh walked me through what to do.  He showed me the rocks to grip onto and the places to put my feet. He showed me the holes and rugged spots in the rock that I needed to grab a hold of.  It took a little bit, but I climbed out.  What relief!

As I've been singing and humming the song "I Need Thee Every Hour" I've also been memorizing Psalm 18:1,2.  Verse 2 says that the LORD is my rock.  As I've been meditating on the words to these verses I kept going back to the word "rock."  It's quite common for people to refer to other people as their "rock."  In the Bible, many people (such as Moses, Hannah and David) referred to God as their "rock." But, what does that exactly mean?

When I dug deeper, I found the meaning of rock in verse 2 to mean: from the root of lofty; uneven, rough and ragged rock.  So basically it's a tall, rough rock, kind of like the one at washing machine beach! Imagine if the rock we were trying to climb had been smooth and slick.  I don't think I would've made it out over the top.  I would have tried and tried to grasp a hold of the rock but I wouldn't have something stable to hold onto.  I definitely would have fallen to the bottom with injury. But, I had the ragged, rough rock to hold onto.

Isn't that just like our God?  He is my rock.  He's the one that I can hold onto and be sure that He will hold me and protect me.   It makes me want to ask the question, "What am I holding onto?"  Is the LORD my rock that I am gripping? If not, I will find myself slipping.  And the slippery climb of life can be dangerous without the Lord.  It can lead to hurt and confusion. It happens quite subtily and   before long we are holding onto something other than the Lord and it's usually ourselves.

 I think a good gauge to see what we are really gripping is by looking at our time.  Are we really giving the Lord our moments?  When difficulty comes do we turn to Him or turn to ways we devise to figure things out ourselves?  Do we get easily frustrated and play the blame game?  When God doesn't have first place in our priorities we are easily swayed.  We are easily agitated, frustrated, non productive and negative.

 But, the Lord wants to be our rock.  He wants to be the strong and steady constant that we need. When we spend time with Him and give Him our moments it reflects in the way we handle difficulties.  And it's so much more than devotion time in the morning.  Don't get me wrong, starting our day off in prayer and time in His Word is VITAL if we are to be what we ought to be.  But, it's easy to check that off and go about our day.  The Bible says to "pray without ceasing."  Are we really aware that God is right there for us to talk to ANYTIME of the day?  Do we read His Word throughout the day to seek wisdom?  Do we fill our lives with Godly influences such as books, movies and even friends that will point us to Him?  When we are really giving God our moments, we ask for wisdom instead of responding with the first reaction our flesh wants to blurt out.  We become patient and kind.   But, it's up to us what we are holding onto.

Psalm 18:1,2
I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 
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.