HE ALONE--MY ROCK

"Saddlerock"--the most famous rock above my valley.
It reminds me of the desolate terrain where David hid.

The contemporary worship song “In Christ Alone” has been been wafting through my mind lately. Here's an online presentation to bring it to mind, if you're not familiar with it: Bing Videos* (full link below).

The most recent “come-to-mind” occasion surfaced as I read Psalm 62, which Bible scholars think may have been related to David's unsought “alone” time in the desert during his son Absalom's attempt to usurp the throne.

My soul finds rest in God alone, My salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.(vv. 1-2)

The next verses talk about enemies who want to topple a man. Surely this fit the situation of a king being pushed from his throne. But David, in his “aloneness,” found the holy aspect of “alone” in making God alone his hope:

Find rest O my soul, in God alone; my hope is from him, He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my mighty rock, my refuge, I trust in him at all times, O people; Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (vv. 5-8)

Quiz time: go through this psalm and mark every time the words “only” and “alone” are mentioned. There are times when worship communities or “small groups”--as good as they are in spiritual nurture--aren't enough to get us close to God's heart. He often speaks in the quiet, silent pauses. Surely that was the case of the Old Testament prophet Elijah, who ran for his life from a treacherous royal couple, ending up in a desolate place. There, alone, cut off from human contact, he waited for God's next nudge. And waited. Finally came that holy moment, after a mysterious spiritual pause in ministry, when God revealed the prophet's next task (1 Kings 16-17).

This Bible story grips me, because I'm prone to believe the cliché, “If it's supposed to be, it's up to me.” But when I shift the emphasis to “in Christ alone,” I learn to seek His path. I learn God is in the pauses as well as the actions. Instead of charging down an unknown path, I go forward carefully, keeping my eyes on Him, “the Author and Perfecter of Faith.”

Jesus was never in a hurry. He included solitude and silence—rest in the Father--in His daily rhythms. For get-it-done personalities like mine, such reminders are important—no, more than that, absolutely necessary—to keep focused on His unfolding will for my life.

Video link: 

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=%22In+thee+alone%22%2Bhymn&mid=537489326122024E7DC5537489326122024E7DC5&FORM=VIRE