Get on the
Rock!

Are you looking for
stability and security in your life? Look to Jesus—the Solid Rock.

By: John Musgrave

The image of a rock evokes feelings of permanence, stability, and security. Professional advertisement campaigns across the United States capitalize on this idea. For example, the promotionals of a leading insurance company encourage us to “get a piece of the rock.” They are saying that their company is solid, that the quality of their stock is not going to change, and that they are one hundred percent reliable. A major automobile manufacturer advertises that their trucks are built like a rock. They are trying to persuade us that if we purchase one of their vehicles, we will have transportation that is unfailingly strong and enduring. A rock denotes something that is invincible and absolutely dependable.

There is one “Rock,” however, that supersedes any advertising claim or mental concept of man. We read in 1 Samuel 2:2, “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.” Nothing compares to the Rock upon which our spiritual lives are founded! The Psalmist spoke eloquently along the same lines, saying, “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” (Psalm 18:2). It says in Deuteronomy 32:4, “He is the Rock.”

The dictionary definition for rock will mention “a stone.” When you go to stone, it is defined as “a rock.” But if you read through all the definitions of the word, you will find one that says “a firm foundation or support, as in the Lord is my Rock.” There you have it! There is no foundation or support that can equal God. In fact, outside of Him, there is nothing solid in this life.

As our Rock, God provides a foundation for our spiritual walk with Him. After the uncertainty and insecurity in our lives before we were converted, the stability of a solid foundation is something to be highly valued. David said, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings” (Psalm 40:2). That is the way it is when you get saved. I know what it is like out there in the world of sin. A “horrible pit” is a good comparison, and your feet truly feel like they are in miry clay. At times you feel like you are sinking and wonder if there is any way out. Thank God, there is! We can get established on the Rock of God.

Recently, I saw a list of excerpts taken from employee performance reviews. One of them said that since this employee’s last review, he had hit rock bottom and had started to dig. That is about how it is when you are living without God in this world. Sooner or later, you hit rock bottom, and just when you think things are bad, they get worse. You feel like you are at the bottom of the pit and digging.

A couple of months ago, my wife and I made a trip to Romania, and while there, we visited a castle in a town called Huneduara. Inside the castle, we went down into some dungeons. Also in that castle, we saw a large well so big and round that it resembled a pit. There is a story behind that well. At one time, three men who were imprisoned in the castle struck a deal with the king. He told them that if they could dig down and find water, he would grant them their freedom. Those three prisoners dug for fifteen years through solid rock. During this time, the king died. When they finally struck water way down deep in that well, the next king would not release them. There is a stone there, and carved on it are the words, “Water you now have and a soul you don’t,” and it is signed by those three men.

What a picture that is of how this life is without God! You can expend huge amounts of effort in an attempt to achieve something, but it will amount to nothing unless you get on the Rock, Christ Jesus. If you set your feet on that Rock, He will establish your goings.
Sometimes a rock is used as a marker or a reference point. In the 35th chapter of Genesis, we read how God told Jacob to go back to a place called Bethel. Years earlier, when Jacob had fled for his life from his brother, Esau, the Lord met him in a dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:12). Jacob saw a ladder reaching up from earth to Heaven and witnessed angels ascending and descending on it. When he awoke, he said, “this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:17). He took the stone that he had used for a pillow and set it up for an altar. He poured oil on it and he made a covenant with God, promising that if God would keep him in the way that he would go and bring him back safely, then he would serve God. When God told Jacob to go back to Bethel, Jacob knew just exactly what God was talking about. He had a rock there. There was a reference point, an experience that God was pointing him back to.

David, the writer of many of the Psalms, speaks of God as our Rock and our refuge. Psalm 62:2 says, “He only is my rock and my salvation.” In God, we can find comfort and help in our time of need. God will take us and hide us, as it were, in the cleft of the Rock. David knew that from practical experience. During those times when he was fleeing from the wrath of King Saul, David would hide in the caves and the mountains and God would help him and deliver him from Saul’s hand. You can see why he would say that the Lord was his Rock and his refuge, his defense, his fortress, his strong and high tower. David had proved it, and so can we!

At the very end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summed up His discourse with a story about a wise man who built his house upon a rock. He laid his foundation on a solid rock, and when the rains descended and the floods came and the wind blew, his house stood. Some Bible scholars suggest those three elements—the rain, floods, and wind—represent three reasons that trials and tribulations come to us. God may allow some trials to strengthen us; we may have done something to bring the trouble on ourselves; or Satan may cause temptations to come our way. But the point is, when we have our feet on the Rock, nothing will be able to shake us loose! We are anchored securely as long as we keep our trust and confidence in Him. Oh, we want to build our foundation on the Rock!

The Rock is not only our reference point, our refuge, and our foundation, but it is also our source of satisfaction. Psalm 78:16 talks about water coming from the rock. In a strictly literal sense, that is hard to imagine, but that is what God can do. We can be going through a dry, difficult place in our spiritual lives, but as we thirst after God, He brings us water of refreshing—water right out of the Rock. Oh, how it satisfies our souls! As we hunger for more of God, we find that we are fed "with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock” (Psalm 81:16). I know from experience that in those times when I needed God, He was right there to refresh and satisfy my soul. I know what that honey from the Rock is like.

The Rock that we serve is also a conqueror. We read in Daniel about the king’s vision of a great beast that had a head of gold, a body of silver, brass, and iron, and feet that were a mixture of iron and clay. It says that a stone was cut out without hands and it came down and smote the image upon the feet. The great image was crushed to powder, and the stone became a mountain and filled the whole earth. That is God—our Rock! His kingdom will one day fill the whole earth and the Lord’s Kingdom will never pass away.
When our feet are on the Rock, we have a peace in our hearts that the world does not know. Whatever turmoil may rage around us, we can pillow our heads at night and know that we are safe in His care.

Do you know for sure that your feet are on the Rock? You can!

John Musgrave is a minister of the Apostolic Faith Church in Portland, Oregon and treasurer of the international organization.