Rock of my salvation
Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation.
It’s weird that as we grow older, there seems to be more burdens and problems out there. I guess, its not so much that there are more problems, but we seem to take more on our shoulders. In the past few weeks, I have been struggling to depend on God to deal with future uncertainties. I came across this verse during my quiet time. It was such a comfort to know that God bears our daily burdens. He is a Lord who daily bears our burden with us, God of our salvation. Why don’t I bring my daily burdens to Him instead of struggling? Perhaps it’s because I do not believe that God cares enough about my daily struggles.
This past week, my wife and I dropped by Grand Canyon as we were driving back from California. It was an awesome sight. We climbed down a cliff that was jutting out from the Canyon rim and sat on the edge, with our legs dangling over the edge. It was quite an awesome and at the same time, thrilling experience. Then my wife decided to move to the pointed edge of the cliff and just sit there. When I saw her sitting right at the pointed edge, my heart rate just ran up. I kept calling her to come back. She refused and just sat there. So in the end, I just turned around and not look. At that moment, I was just so afraid that she falls off and I would lose her forever. Come to think of it, it is a rather irrational fear. This rock has been here for ages and there is no way she would fall. Later, when she came back up, I asked her if she was afraid. And she replied, “Yes, initially. But I realize that this huge sturdy rock will hold my weight. As I trusted in it, I felt calm.”
As we continued our drive home, I thought about what she said and recalled the Psalmist say, “The Lord is the rock of my salvation.” At other times, he cried out, “Oh, plant my feet on the everlasting rock.” The image is of the psalmist standing at the edge of a pit which the ancient Israelites dug to hold rain water. During the dry season, the cistern becomes a dangerous pit. One may fall into the pit by standing on the edge. So what they did was to line the edge of the pit with huge rocks. Thus standing on such a sturdy rock, one would have a firm footing and not slip and fall.
At that moment, I kind of understood what it means that God is the rock of my salvation. Just as my wife did not panic standing at the edge of the cliff because of her faith in the rock, if I do believe in God to bear my daily burdens, being the rock of my salvation who bears my burdens, then I have no need to be afraid.
Brothers and sisters, as we go through this unprecedented period of economic uncertainty, there is certainly much to be worried about. Maybe as you experience uncertainties because of transitions in life, as a result of changes in jobs, relationships, lost of loved ones, there is certainly a lot that weighs down on us. Perhaps we need to plant our feet on the Rock of our Salvation who is interested in bearing our daily burdens.
It’s weird that as we grow older, there seems to be more burdens and problems out there. I guess, its not so much that there are more problems, but we seem to take more on our shoulders. In the past few weeks, I have been struggling to depend on God to deal with future uncertainties. I came across this verse during my quiet time. It was such a comfort to know that God bears our daily burdens. He is a Lord who daily bears our burden with us, God of our salvation. Why don’t I bring my daily burdens to Him instead of struggling? Perhaps it’s because I do not believe that God cares enough about my daily struggles.
This past week, my wife and I dropped by Grand Canyon as we were driving back from California. It was an awesome sight. We climbed down a cliff that was jutting out from the Canyon rim and sat on the edge, with our legs dangling over the edge. It was quite an awesome and at the same time, thrilling experience. Then my wife decided to move to the pointed edge of the cliff and just sit there. When I saw her sitting right at the pointed edge, my heart rate just ran up. I kept calling her to come back. She refused and just sat there. So in the end, I just turned around and not look. At that moment, I was just so afraid that she falls off and I would lose her forever. Come to think of it, it is a rather irrational fear. This rock has been here for ages and there is no way she would fall. Later, when she came back up, I asked her if she was afraid. And she replied, “Yes, initially. But I realize that this huge sturdy rock will hold my weight. As I trusted in it, I felt calm.”
As we continued our drive home, I thought about what she said and recalled the Psalmist say, “The Lord is the rock of my salvation.” At other times, he cried out, “Oh, plant my feet on the everlasting rock.” The image is of the psalmist standing at the edge of a pit which the ancient Israelites dug to hold rain water. During the dry season, the cistern becomes a dangerous pit. One may fall into the pit by standing on the edge. So what they did was to line the edge of the pit with huge rocks. Thus standing on such a sturdy rock, one would have a firm footing and not slip and fall.
At that moment, I kind of understood what it means that God is the rock of my salvation. Just as my wife did not panic standing at the edge of the cliff because of her faith in the rock, if I do believe in God to bear my daily burdens, being the rock of my salvation who bears my burdens, then I have no need to be afraid.
Brothers and sisters, as we go through this unprecedented period of economic uncertainty, there is certainly much to be worried about. Maybe as you experience uncertainties because of transitions in life, as a result of changes in jobs, relationships, lost of loved ones, there is certainly a lot that weighs down on us. Perhaps we need to plant our feet on the Rock of our Salvation who is interested in bearing our daily burdens.
posted by i.Dialogue | 11:43 AM
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