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The Unmoved Rock

Once upon a time, there was a man who was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Saviour appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture, placing thoughts into the man’s mind such as: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why waste your life over this? You are never going to move it.” Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. “Why should I waste so much energy on this?” he thought. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough.” And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

“Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

To this the Lord responded compassionately, “My child, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.

And now you come to me, your energy spent, thinking that you have failed. But is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms, back and neck are strong and muscled, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition, you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my child, will now move the rock.”

Then the man realized that the plan of God was not for the rock, but for the man.

The storms, the trials, the heartaches, the disappointments, are all but part of the process. Don’t start measuring your successes; trust the God that will take the process and build you up.

For it is not your achievements that matter, it is who you have become that matters.

God is stretching you and God is growing you! Keep pushing.

1. The Bible says that each of us has been created by God … that he loves us … and that he wants us to have a fulfilling life. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” Jesus said.

2. He meant a life that goes beyond “mere existence” to a fulfilling life lived in harmony with the Creator’s knowledge of us and his desires for us. But there is something that separates us from this “abundant life” that God intended. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

3. It is because of this sin, this disobedience towards God, that every person is separated from him: “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

4. And even worse is the consequence of sin, eternal separation from God—“the wages [cost] of sin is death.”

5. However, in his love and mercy, God sent his sinless Son, Jesus, to pay the price of our sins’ debt. Almost 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ died on a cross, was buried, and then rose from the dead on the third day.

6. It is only through the death of Jesus that we can be reconciled to God. And through his sacrifice, God offers the free gift of eternal life to all who believe in his name.

7. There is no greater hope than this—the assurance of eternal life offered to us through Jesus Christ, and his promise to stay with us and sustain us in all circumstances: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor power, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

8. God offers this hope to you today. To accept his offer, begin by admitting that you are a sinner separated from God and in need of his forgiveness. Then trust only in Christ to save you from the consequences of your sins. Believe that Jesus died for your sins on the cross and was raised from the dead in order to conquer death, bridging the gap caused by sin between you and God.

Accept Jesus’ offer to come into your life as your Savior. If you sincerely desire to have hope in Christ, tell God in words like these: “Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. Thank you for sending Jesus to suffer the punishment that I deserve for my sins. Please help me every day to turn from my sin and live a life that pleases you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life and for the hope I now have in you. Amen.”

Scripture references: ¹ John 10:10, ² Romans 3:23, ³ Isaiah 59:2, ⁴ Romans 6:23, ⁵ 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ⁶ Romans 3:23, John 3:36, ⁷ Romans 8:35,38-39, ⁸ Romans 15:13

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