The Rock

Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by” (Exodus 33:21-22).

Long accustomed to the sight of desert sands, Moses welcomed the chance to stand on rock. This rock in particular was a good place to be. This rock was near God and God had placed Moses there. Sometimes our dealings with God are like this. We’re exactly where God wants us to be. We’re close to God and there’s something solid beneath us. It feels good to stand on a rock that allows you to get your bearings, examine the landscape, get a feel for what’s going on around you. A rock you can stand on won’t easily be jerked out from under you. You can stand there with confidence.

But when it came time for God’s glory to pass by, Moses was no longer allowed to stand on the rock. That’s a little odd. Seems like the rock would have been the right kind of perch for seeing the glory of God. At least it seems that way to me. God thought otherwise. When God chose to reveal the afterglow of his glory to Moses he placed Moses in a cleft in the rock. A cleft is a fissure in the rock’s face, a wide crack or split, maybe a little like cave. A tight spot. A dark spot.

Try to recall the places where you’ve had a faint sighting of God’s glory. My mind goes straight to Sarasota, Florida and a sunset witnessed from a sugar-white gulf coast beach. From there I move diagonally to the exact opposite corner of the country and a mountain range in central Alaska. And there are some places in between. Two delivery rooms, one in Houston, one in Raleigh, make the list easily. Add a place across the ocean where I worshipped with Christian brothers and sisters from Iran. What you won’t find on my list are those dark places, the seasons of my life that felt tight and oppressive and gave rise to a low grade panic in my soul.

If I’m looking for the glory of God, I won’t choose to look in a cave. I don’t want to be in the cleft of the rock. But that’s where God placed Moses. God placed him in the crevice, and then covered him with his hand. Funny how God’s hand can either seem to us like a protective shield or a smothering weight.

This is God’s way with us. In those tight dark places; in those places where vision is limited and we appear to be trapped, the glory of God is not far from us. You may be in such a place today. The danger is that in such places we’re so busy looking for a way out, we fail to see the glory. But it’s there, moving like breeze. Hints of glory surround you today, even in the cleft of the rock.

Prayer:
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry thirsty land;
He hideth my soul in the depth of his love
And covers me there with his hand,
And covers me there with his hand.
(Fanny Crosby, He Hideth My Soul, 1890)