Original: September 13, 2007
McMinnville, OR
1-2 I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-2
2 "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2
This passage takes me back to a day July in 2001.
I had trained since January to climb Mt. Whitney in a day. At 14,497.61 feet Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. My plan was to make the 22 mile round trip in one day, climbing 11 miles from the Whitney Portals at 8,600 feet to the summit, gaining nearly 6,000 feet in elevation. The biggest problem would be timing as the afternoon lightning strikes hit consistently from around 1:00-3:00 pm. The evidence of the lightning strikes surrounded the trail which was littered with boulders split into pieces by afternoon lightning strikes. I will never forget our walk/run down the mountain after summiting. Thankfully, we remained a mere 2 minutes ahead of the most severe lightning storm I had ever encountered in my life. Being caught above the tree line could be life threatening due to the lack of cover.
I was told by a wise old mountain man that the rule of thumb when above the tree line when caught in a lightning storm is simply tuck into a ball, curl up under the largest rock you can find, and pray. Oddly another man once told me something similar, “Stick your head between your legs and kiss your butt goodbye!” Fortunately for us we were only spectators of God’s awesome light parade and it never had to tuck, curl and pray (or stick, kiss and say depending on which mountain man you talk to!).
David must have been reflecting upon his past months in hiding from Saul and his armies as he wrote, “the Lord is my crag, my fortress, and my deliverer. (NASB)” Crags are sheer and jagged rock outcroppings that David must have hidden under or between to make Saul’s search more tenuous. Their intimidating appearance makes them fortress-like in appearance. It was hiding in the crags and the caves they held that delivered David. In times of fear and vulnerability David found strength in the shelter. We know that at least once David looked up to those hills and reflected, “I look to the hills and where does my help come from. My help comes from the Lord” (Psalm 121:1).
When I think of God as my strength, rock (crag), fortress, and deliverer I think of a God who is, “the same yesterday, today, and forever more” (Hebrews 13:5). I think of the God a man can “come to” when weighed down by his many responsibilities (Matthew 11:28). I think of the God a man can hide under when there is no where else to run (1 Peter 5:6-7). I think of the God who gives us confidence in any and every circumstance (Philippians 4:12-13).
“He has become my rock and my salvation” (Psalm 62:2, 6).
Has he become yours?
