Earthquakes and Rocks

"For the mountains may move
and the hills disappear, 
but even then my faithful love for you will remain. 
My covenant of blessing will never be broken," 
says the LORD, who has mercy on you.  
Isaiah 54:10

The LORD is my rock, 
my fortress, 
and my savior; 
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  
He is my shield, 
the power that saves me, 
and my place of safety.  
Psalm 18:2

Haven't blogged for awhile.  Sometimes too many half-formed ideas and thoughts are swimming around, percolating, in my mind and I can't pin them down enough to write about them.  But this is a big idea that God  has been teaching me in the last season or two.  I think I can write about it now.

Some things have happened around us this past year that have been really hard.  Things that have been both harder and easier for us to watch and be a part of because we live "far away."  Many times I have thanked God for his mercy because we have possibly been spared a lot of heartache due to distance; other times I have maybe grieved more deeply because we couldn't be closer to help and be more involved.  We have likened these events to many things, but I think the most accurate description would be that they have been like earthquakes.  Earthquakes in the sense that sometimes we take for granted certain aspects of our lives as givens, and then something happens to shake it all up, mess it all up, or even just plain change it all.

I look up to the mountains-
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD
who made heaven and earth!  
Psalm 121:1-2

How many times have I looked to the mountains for help?  Counted on the mountains and the things I considered constants in life to be there, to help me---only to have them be shaken, torn down, disappeared?  People, churches, jobs, families, health, hearts--they can all change.  Loyalties can shift, things die.  Some changes are good and for positive reasons.  But usually there is also loss and grieving, even in the best of changes.  The things I once thought would always be around seem to be so swiftly  shaken up and swept away. 

So, where does my help come from?  Who is my Rock?  If everything around or in us falls apart, where do we turn?  Although I always knew the right words, this last year I have really seen, really been learning, that God is the only rock that will never be moved.  My loyalty is to God alone.  My trust is in God alone.  God is my only refuge, my place of safety, my only shield.  The mountains may move--in fact they probably will--but God will always be the constant that does not crumble.  God will strengthen, God will save, God will redeem, and God will bless.  My hope is in him.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken. 
Psalm 62:5-6