Chapter 2: 5

The Third Method:

The Rock

"Divine Care"

“He shall set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27: 5)

In the midst of rising rivers and the troubles of the world around us, amidst the pressures of life, the wickedness of people, the disquieting situations politically, socially and economically, the Lord shepherds us and lifts us up above the circumstances and events, as He did with the young men in the fiery furnace, and Daniel in the lion’s den, and Joseph in prison.

The Lord may not change the circumstances, but He lifts us up above the circumstances. Circumstances change and vary, but God is stronger than the circumstances. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow
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Therefore the Apostle Paul says “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8: 35, 37).

Habakkuk also makes this clear when he did not fear the changing circumstances, saying:  “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”  Why?   “The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills“(Habakkuk 3: 17-19).
 
The Lord will not prevent the turbulence of the rivers, but He promised, saying: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you” (Isaiah 43: 1, 2).

Here we see that God did not prevent the water and rivers, but He promised two great things:

            First: He is with us in the water and rivers (troubling circumstances) and He will not leave us alone.

            Second: That these rivers will not cover us no matter how high the waves may rise up.  No, we will not drown.

Moses praised the Lord’s care for us, exclaiming in his immortal hymn of Deuteronomy 32: “Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect.” David also rejoices in the Lord’s care, saying: “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (Psalm 40: 2).

Thus, my dear reader, when circumstances change around you, and fear creeps into your heart, by faith, hold fast to the promise of the Great Shepherd, that He will never leave you nor forsake you.  The Most High rules in the kingdom of men and He is the Rock, His work is perfect.

The Lord did not promise us a life free from trouble but He promised to be with us in the trouble.

Magdy Samuel