Are You Hidden in Christ?
Did you hear the incredible story over Easter weekend about the plane that went down in Iran? Someone had apparently leaked to the media that one man, the pilot, was rescued, but the other serviceman was missing….
The plane had gone down on Good Friday, and there were people from both sides hunting for him relentlessly.
Thankfully, the young man was rescued early on Easter Sunday, after some longstanding hiding in a Rock/cave.
His story seemed to echo the words of a song I had posted in a video that same weekend, called “Rock of Ages”. I’ll share more about that song in the footer below. Hopefully as you listen to the song, it will move you to stay hidden in Christ.
Are You Safely Hidden in the Rock?
Have you ever felt the need to seek shelter and hide, when circumstances around you were chaotic and threatening?
Can you imagine being out in the barren wilderness, being hunted down by enemy forces, totally exposed and vulnerable?
Maybe you feel that way in your life or know someone who does. Like the enemy of your soul is hunting you down relentlessly and you need a safe place to rest and hide.
The Rest of the Story
I don’t know the precise details of his story, or how much of this is true specifically, but bear with me for this illustration if you will.
From what I had heard, this young man had sustained some sort of injury during the downing of the plane, yet he pressed on, climbing up into the nearby hills, and hiding himself until he was finally rescued a couple days later, staying quiet and still in the crevice of a rock or cave for hour after hour.
I’d love to hear his account of the actual details some day. (BTW, if you’ve heard him interviewed, please do drop a link in the comments to let me know where I can listen to him tell the “rest of the story”.)
Rock of Ages
While getting ready to send an email to my list to keep them updated, I realized the similarities between THAT story and the lyrics of the song video I had just posted over that same weekend.
My version of the old hymn “Rock of Ages” has a spontaneous section in which the lyrics freely focus on the first verse that says:
“Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure.”
Those words can seem cryptic, until you get hold of the deep and profound scriptural significance of what is being said.
David and Saul
The area where the jet had gone down is likely similar to (King) David’s surroundings when he and his contemporaries wrote the Psalms, that so often refer to our Rock of refuge.
David frequently found himself hiding in the wilderness like this young serviceman. Where is there to hide but a cave when all is laid bare and barren around you?
It’s reminiscent of the story of David hiding from King Saul in a cave with his men in 1 Samuel 24. Saul happened to go in to that very cave to relieve himself while David and his men were in the dark at the back of the cave. David’s men urged him to kill Saul. But David refused to touch the Lord’s anointed king.
He was hiding from Saul who wanted to kill HIM, but he had no intention of killing Saul.
So many beautiful verses/passages from the Psalms and elsewhere recount such moments (all from the NIV):
“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”
(Psalm 32:7)
“I love you, O LORD, my strength. 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)
“From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”
(Psalm 61:2-4)
“David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.”
(2 Samuel 22:1-4)
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”
(Psalm 27:4-5)
Notice a theme? 🙂
Hiding in a Cave
There are two memorable moments in scripture when God had someone hide in a Cave in the vicinity of His presence.
First is Moses, when he was encountering God so deeply; he wanted God to show him His glory.
“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. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.’”
(Exodus 33:21-23)
The other is Elijah in the story found in 1 Kings 18:16 to 19:18, after he defeated the prophets of Baal and ran into the wilderness in fear because Jezebel said that because of the deaths of those prophets she would kill him. He became quite depressed and needed the Lord to sustain him for his journey.
At one point, after he had recovered a little, the Lord gently asked him what he was doing in that place. After Elijah replied,
“The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’”
(1 Kings 19:11-13)
The Rock that Accompanied Them
And how often is Jesus called the Rock of our Salvation?
In 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul uses the experiences of the Israelites in their journey, and how Christ was with them way back in the Old Testament, where he says in part that the Christians’ forefathers all “…drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”
That’s odd. How do you drink from a rock?
That verse hearkens back to some very profound passages in the Old Testament that were quite prophetic about Jesus, the Messiah.
Once, as the people were traveling through the wilderness, complaining about not having any water to drink, the Lord said to Moses: “…Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” (Exodus 17:5b-6a)
Later (and this is the moment of disobedience that ended up preventing Moses from actually being allowed to lead the people in, as they entered the Promised Land), the people again complained of not having anything to drink.
The Lord then spoke to Moses, this time telling him to do things slightly differently. But on this occasion, Moses seemed to lose his temper (note to self—be careful about doing things rashly when feeling emotional)…
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.’”
(Numbers 20:7-8)
So Moses began to follow the Lord’s instructions, but seemed to lose it a little due to his frustration with the people. Instead of speaking to the ROCK, he spoke to the PEOPLE….
“He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.”
(Numbers 20:10-11)
Since Moses didn’t honor God as holy in the sight of the Israelites that day, the Lord did not allow him to lead them into the Promised Land.
I wonder if that scene went something like this: Moses has the people gathered (feeling quite fed up with them and their complaining / arguing), and God was about to do a precious and profound miracle, responding to Moses’ WORDS as he spoke to the Rock.
Creature of habit like so many of us, Moses took the staff and struck the rock like the time before. Since he hadn’t “spoken” to it, and the water didn’t flow as quickly as it had last time, in his frustration, he may have taken that staff and hauled off with another huge blow, and the water gushed out.
That moment is symbolic of how Christ was struck as well.
Water From the Rock
The Rock of our salvation was struck (and then some). Living water flowed from His side, with literal water and blood pouring out from within Him as the spear was thrust in His side at the end of His sufferings.
That precious Blood paid the penalty for OUR sin, saving us from God’s wrath.
That living Water cleanses us from all unrighteousness when we accept His salvation and allow Him to come into OUR lives, refreshing and nourishing our thirsty souls.
Now, after having all those incredible scriptures fresh in your mind, reflect again on these words, and perhaps listen anew to the song linked in the footer section.
“Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee. Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure.”
Silence and Stillness in our Refuge
Think of the miracle of that young serviceman hiding hour after hour, silent and still within the cleft of that rock or cave, as his enemies were unable to find him, but his rescuers finally were able to do so.
Jesus longs for you to take refuge in His side, allowing you to be safely covered by His blood, and by His hands that were pierced for you … so that His blood can be the “double cure” to save you from His wrath and sanctify you or make you pure in His sight.
Praise be to His glorious name.
So grateful to be hidden in the Rock…
Lisa Prokopowitz is a Christian Singer/Songwriter, Guitarist, Podcaster and Blogger who seeks to lift up the name of Jesus and draw hungry hearts unto Him.
The podcast (Audio) version of this episode will be posted here:
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Click below to watch the “Rock of Ages” video mentioned in this article:
Click below to listen to or download the original version of this song on Lisa’s Sacred Sojourn / Follow Me album:
https://lisaprokopowitz.bandcamp.com/track/rock-of-ages
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