Finding God in the Unlikeliest of Places

Rocks can be annoying.

• I don’t want rocks in my yard. Three years ago, I had several trees planted. I prayed the whole time they wouldn’t hit big rocks—which my part of the country is known for—otherwise, the cost of planting those trees would shoot up.
• I’ve replaced a few windshields because of an errant rock.
• And then there’s the matter of rocks in my shoes. Grrr.

I usually don’t give much thought to rocks. Why should I? They’re just rocks. Of all the things I’ve wanted or needed over the years, rocks were never on my list.

I’m guessing that, unless you’re a geologist, rocks are not high on your list either. If you need something from God, I’m guessing it’s not a rock.

Yet sometimes a rock is the very thing God provides—and it is the very thing we need.

The Israelites had hardly left enslavement in Egypt when they started grousing. WHERE’S THE WATER?? WE NEED WATER! WE’RE GOING TO DIE OUT HERE!

Under God’s direction, Moses struck a rock and water poured out. Lots of it. A rock would’ve been the last place anyone would look, and God used this miracle to remind the people where they should look first. Don’t look to your circumstances; look to God (Ex. 17:1-7).

Repeatedly in the Old Testament, God was referred to as a rock.

• “There is no rock like our God” (1 Sam. 2:2).
• “Lord, I seek refuge in you; let me never be disgraced. Save me by your righteousness. Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mountain fortress to save me. For you are my rock and my fortress; you lead and guide me for your name’s sake” (Ps. 31:1-3).

The imagery of a rock points to God’s strength and protection for those who trust in Him, but what does the world see? Too many people see God like they see rocks: annoying, unmoving, and not able do anything. Yet that’s what makes God so amazing. The last place the world looks for help is the Rock who provides everything we need. Unfortunately, for the unbelieving, God our Rock becomes “a stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over” (1 Pet. 2:8).

Jesus is a huge stumbling block for so many. Yet, just as God miraculously provided for the Israelites with a rock, He provides for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s not a physical rock that sustains us; it is Jesus Himself. The apostle Paul referred to Jesus as the spiritual rock from which we drink! (1 Cor. 10:4).

What Jesus ultimately provides is not physical water, but something even better. He said,

“The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:38-39).

By Moses’ hand, water poured out of the physical rock. Through Christ, “God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5).

What are you thirsty for?

It’s the last place many would look, but come to Jesus. You’ll find what you’re thirty for. And you’ll be quenched.

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