Isaiah 32:1-2
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the
tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
1 Corinthians 10:4
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
It is a scientifically recorded phenomenon, they are called “sailing stones.” They occur in an area of Death Valley National park, called Racetrack Playa. Stones as large as 80 pounds leave visible tracks across the desert plain. In the 1970’s, one stone was recorded to move 659 feet in a single season. It was one of thirty stones to move in a seven year study.
For years it was a mystery. Now scientists believe that it is a combination of wind and small pockets of ice which form to move the rocks. Others believe water lifts them during the winter season. I don’t know which theory is accurate, but I do know this, stones are moved across a desert land, leaving visible signs in their wake.
Lead Pastor Denny Livingston of our Church, Point Of Mercy, spoke recently on Christ being our rock. I couldn’t help but think of the verses he referenced as I read of the “sailing stones.” Pastor Livingston refreshed my soul by reminding us how completely Christ protects, shades, comforts, and strengthens us. As Christians, we talk of Jesus captaining our vessel. Some non-Christians may wonder how He can be our rock, our captain, our shelter, and our light.
These “sailing stones” illustrate it so very well. In the desert of my trial, He not only sails through, blazing a trail for me to follow. Many times in my life, I’ve arrived at a victory, only to discover something even more wonderful. God had orchestrated certain events years earlier to cause me to succeed In something I never knew that I would face.
The Lord Jesus doesn’t only go ahead of me, He follows me on my journey. The Bible talks of a Shepherd, not only leading, but following His sheep great with young. Christ has confidence in us, but ensures we give birth to the message He placed in our hearts.
Jesus follows my every move, protecting and guarding me, like an army of soldiers. The scriptures called it a rereward. In the daytime, when the heat of life is scorching down, He shades me. When I’m so thirsty I can’t go on, He’s the water that flows from a miraculous source to flood my weary soul.
<em>1 Peter 2:5
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Through Simon, He calls us “lively stones”. It is fitting that it was the Apostle Simon Peter, the man referred to as Petros, a rock. How do we sail through life’s problems as a Christian we ask? Especially when our burdens feel heavier than we are? The same way that 80 pound boulders leave trails in a desert. The Water Of Life, and a Rushing Mighty Wind propel us forward. Perhaps God had that image in mind when He said this through David.
Psalms 23:4
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
I always viewed this as God and man walking through a great valley. If you view it as wind and water navigating a stone through a desert, it adds to its impact. So take heart, as He brings us to our planned location. For it’s not the destination that is the witness, it’s the journey. Scientists weren’t amazed by where the sailing stones stopped, but by the trail they left behind.
Our journey is not in vain, or unnecessary! It is a roadmap to sinners along the way. Lifeless souls who need a Savior to lift them up, and carry them from where they are, to where they never thought they could be!
