The Rock that is Higher
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Our slow morning began resting beside a familiar river tucked intimately within the Smoky Mountains. With the waters beneath…the trees above…and the most appreciated breeze surrounding our family, we stepped further away from the man-made and deeper into what only God could have fashioned.
As my husband gathered his fly rod and gear to fish upriver, my sons found their home base at the shoreline with the hopes of creating miniature towns using sand, leaves, and twigs. I love how creative my boys are and while my original plan for the day had been to watch and see what they might create — my attention was captured by the sight of one massive boulder situated in the center of the river. Unlike the leaves in the trees moving with the breeze, or the rhythm of the rushing waters lapping against the stone’s sturdy frame — this silent giant sat immovable, demanding no attention for it could make no sounds and no movements of its own. While it commanded nothing of its neighbors…it also could not be commanded by anything or anyone…with the exception being the One who placed it there.
I have always been drawn to rocks, particularly the smooth rivers stones that have endured the course set before them and as a result are beautifully smooth and kind to hold for any jagged edges have been worn away. There are no teeth when it comes to the aged river stone…and so I collect them and give them a place to rest within my home. I joke that I do this also because Jesus made it clear in Luke 19 that stones will cry out in worship if we fail to…so I consider them solid accountability in the center of our home.
The rock in the river couldn’t, shouldn’t and wouldn’t be moved…but I had to move towards it even if that meant walking through unknown, deep water. While I have done my fair share of river walking, I had never walked in this particular river and knew that I would need to be careful with so many jagged rocks and unknown crevices before me. I also knew though that if I remained where I stood on the shoreline…the stagnant pools of water that rest at the river’s edge would attract more mosquitoes as the day grew warmer. So I had to make a decision, either I ventured to the rock in the center of the unknown rushing waters or choose the easier route and stay where I stood, where my footing appeared to be certain but where I would most certainly be bitten by flying vermin.
I strapped on my water sandals, found a strong walking stick and kissed the mosquitoes goodbye.
As I took those first steps into the water the words from Psalm 61 began to echo through my chest:
“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I…”
Where I had been was no longer an option.
The water was strong and moving so fast it was difficult to see where exactly my feet were but I pressed on, walking slow and leaning low with my new wooden friend holding firm with new purpose since falling from the canopy. Sometimes I slipped, but I never went under. Sometimes I feared a snake would make an appearance, but then I remembered if the One who was able to place this boulder in the river was in fact calling me to rest upon it…then He is also able to shut the mouth of any snake in my path to it. If there was a snake, I never saw it. There were moments when the water would calm and I could clearly see the next step and gladly take it, but more often than not it seemed as if each step was literally taken in faith as I journeyed on.
After some time I finally reached the boulder. The water that had been pressing against my every move, fell away as it struck the rock and realized this was a battle the water would simply not win. On hands and knees I crawled to the top, no longer touched by the cold river and feeling the warm sun raining down as I found my place at the top. The rays felt better than any blanket but the view was what captured my heart. Finally able to rest from the hike, I breathed easy and took in all that surrounded me now…the view from the rock was far more remarkable than from that of the shore.
A few moments passed and then I heard my sons calling to me for they now saw where I sat and wished to join me on the rock. Such excitement filled my heart that they too wanted to seek more than the shore. So I called to them and told them to come, but when they hesitated for the same reasons I had hesitated before, I assured them that I knew the way to the rock and if they followed my guidance they would reach it safely.
They looked concerned and while it would have been easier for them to remain over in their play…they weren’t meant to remain near those stagnant pools of water. Deep inside they too wanted more and in truth I wanted more for them too. But they would have to choose to brave the rushing water and trust my voice calling to them. If I had had the ability to part the waters and make the path easier — part of me would want to do just that…however another part of me knew that in order for them to feel as I felt on this rock…they would need to be brave and navigate the current to reach the rock themselves.
My boys trusted me and stepped into the water.
“Lean low my love!” I called when I saw them nearly lose balance. They listened. They leaned.
“That water is deep my love, be ready!” I called when I saw what they could not see. They readied themselves.
“Don’t be afraid my love!” I called when they asked about snakes. They grew braver.
And then they reached the rock. I met their hands and pulled them up beside me so they too could drink in the view. We didn’t say much as we sat in the sun, but oh my heart met God in that moment…one parent to another.
There are many in this life that choose the sureness of the shoreline. They ignore that their life is stagnant and swarming with mosquitos because it’s easier, predictable and they can always just slap on more repellent. Since the shore doesn’t cost them much they are fine to find more reasons to justify remaining where they are in life… after all the view is good enough. The more reasons they find to stay, the harder it is for them to hear the call to more.
There is a call to more. Always. But the only one worth listening for is the call to more of God. Man-made calls can be very loud and easily enticing…but what those sirens pull one towards can never hold a candle to what is being offered by God on the other side of His call.
God is calling us all to the rock…the immovable…unchangeable…beautiful…rock that rests higher than where we currently sit. On this rock there is rest, peace, contentment, and a view that whispers a reminder there is more than this world can offer.
God our Father calls us to more in this life, but we have to choose to trust His voice, step away from what is familiar, let go of what is not needed, lean low when we must, be brave, stand firm, and climb to the heights He has set before us.
Just as I wanted to share with my boys,
there is a view He wishes to share with you.
If your life were by the river, where are you?
Are you sitting beside stagnant, nasty water where not much happening except the occasional bite?
Are you standing at the shore, wanting to step but afraid of the unknown?
Are you in the river, and waiting for His guidance on where to step next?
Have you reached the rock, and feeling His mighty hand pull you up?
Are you on the rock, taking in the view beside your Father who made it possible?
My friend we are all at the river…are you where you want to be? Do you hear Him calling to you?
If you haven’t set your foot in the water, oh I do pray that you will strap on you water sandals, pick up a good stick and cry out to your Father for whatever He would have you do next.
He loves you and He wants to drink in the view with you. If you don’t believe me…wasn’t that how He was with the first human to ever walk this earth? God walked in the garden with Adam by choice. And He has been making a way for mankind ever since to return to the place beside Him.
As I sat on that rock, beside my sons, I realized that they wouldn’t have ventured out here had I not gone before them. Wow…what if I had stayed where I was comfortable…more than likely they would have remained there as well and we would have missed this moment together.
After a few moments my oldest looks at me and asks, “Can I go to the next large rock on my own?”
My heart warmed and I held back tears of joy that he would ask such a thing. My boy who had been afraid was now choosing to go to the next rock that was higher than this one. It was a journey I hadn’t taken yet and so he would need to remember what he has learned to move forward. He did and I had the best seat in the house to watch him step out in courage and then pull himself up on the boulder beyond.
He reached the top, looked back at me and smiled. I will need forget the look in his eyes.
When we reach for more of Jesus…someone is watching and learning from us.
When we respond to God’s call…someone is watching and learning from us.
When we encourage another to reach for Him…then we get to witness God at work in the life of another.
How good is our Father who shares with us the joy in witnessing such miracles…
In closing I want to share this verse from Hosea 10:12 which reads
Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
We are called to sow, or plant seeds of righteousness in our lives and those around us. So we must do the things, reach for Jesus, respond to His voice when he calls, so that His rightness in this wrong world may begin to take root. We are to reap, to gather a harvest with kindness…not boasting and proud but fully aware of what we are holding and who has blessed us to do so. We must break up the fallow ground…break up the old and seek what God is calling us to.
It is time to seek the rock that is higher than you and in doing so you are sowing seeds of righteousness in your life and in the lives of those who watch you place your feet in the river.
