It's good to think more deeply about the mercies of God in times of crisis. To help guide us in this effort, we'll consider Paul David Tripp's collection of meditations from Psalm 27 called "A Shelter in the Time of Storm." You can get your own copy on Amazon here.

He will conceal me
under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:5

We're wired to search for certainty. "Everyone is searching for that solid rock. No human being enjoys feeling that he is living in the sinking sand of unpredictability, disappointment, and danger with no rock to reach for and stand on."

This is why we turn to our resources, our relationships, and ourselves to feel in control despite the more obvious truth (that we aren't!). We use those other things to fool ourselves into thinking we have a kind of control that we don't. We don't want to admit that we lack the thing that's most needed for our sense of well-being.

God wired us this way on purpose. "You weren't hardwired to be independently okay. You were designed to find your 'solid rock' only in a dependent, loving, worshipful relationship with Another." That's why we're always seeking security and never feel "okay" with uncertainty and instability.

"Here is the hope for every weary traveler whose feet are tired of the slippery instability of mud of a fallen world. Your weariness is a signpost. It's meant to cause you to cry out for help. It's meant to cause you to quit looking for your stability horizontally and begin to cry out for it vertically."

Those other things will never make you ultimately secure. If you try to use them for security, you should expect a loving God to take them away from you until you have nothing left to turn to but him. When we feel completely hopeless - when all else has failed us - our hearts are often ready for God to do his work.

Note that it's his work. "He will lift me high upon a rock." "It doesn't say, 'I will find the rock and I will climb up on it.'" Call out to God even now, hopefully before all else has failed you. Tripp ends with this: "In his grace, he won't play hide-and-seek with you. In your weakness and weariness, cry out to him. He will find you, and he will be your Rock."

Questions to Consider

The questions are Tripp's. I included my answers in case they're helpful to read.

1. Be honest as you examine the way you live. What do you look to as your 'solid rock'?

- God's track record in my own life. He doesn't fail, and he has never failed me.

2. How would your living be different if Christ really were your 'solid rock'?

- By God's grace, this is an area where I do pretty well. I have insecurities that are (I think) common to many of us, but I can generally resist them and choose trust over fear when making decisions.