The Rock

“Devastated” doesn’t begin to describe how I felt that day four years ago. Circumstances beyond my control had seemed to conspire against me. I had been laid off from a job to which I had given my all for almost fourteen years. I can’t say that I took it well at first, alternating between anger and depression. I simply couldn’t see my way forward, nor could I come to grips with how my family would manage without the income we were accustomed to. Did the sun even shine that summer? I can’t recall.

Despair was something that ancient Israel’s King David also struggled with, and some of those struggles are recorded in the book of Psalms. I identified with his anguish. “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!” “From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” There was a rock upon which I could depend, a rock upon which I could rebuild my life. That rock was Jesus Christ.

Being out of work, I had time on my hands. I immersed myself in God’s Word, meditated on His promises, and thought about Him as I walked, worked in the garden, and rested. Gradually my peace of mind and spirit were restored. My troubles didn’t seem so bad once I got my focus back on eternal truths and values. Finally I could agree with the apostle Paul when he said, in effect, “The present hard times can’t compare with the coming good times.”

Life gradually became busier again. I found a part-time job, but less income meant moving my family to a smaller house. Downsizing was an adjustment, but it had its advantages—a simpler lifestyle, less pressure, fewer complications, and the opportunity to pursue new interests.

Then a chance encounter led to a training course and an entirely new career—an opportunity that wouldn’t have come to me if I had still been working at my old job. I’m happier and more fulfilled in my new situation, and my family is better off than we were then. It was a big change of direction that I probably wouldn’t have made if I hadn’t been forced into it, but what looked like the end turned out to be a new start.

I climbed on the Rock, and He held me up.

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1 Corinthians 3:11 ESV – For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:20 ESV – Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

Matthew 7:24 ESV – Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.