The Rocks that Amplify the River’s Roar

I hadn’t beheld such beauty in a long time.  This was a new hike.  Gary and I enjoyed it together. The mossy rocks and cedar groves were breath-taking, but it was the surprising sound of a rushing creek that called for our attention.  Long before it came into sight, the distant roar built an anticipation to find its source.

When it finally came into view Gary and I stopped for a photo opp. What had intensified the sound of the narrow stream were the many rocks and large boulders on its floor.  Its waters reverberated with the most soothing yet powerful roar as they crashed over them.

We continued our journey, but I couldn’t shake what I had just witnessed:  Those rocks…they were the instruments that made the waters roar. Rocks usually represent those things in our path that provoked us to stumble, those decisions that caused our shame, or the circumstances that incited chaos in our days.

We despise their toppled ruins, but the rocks we abhor surprisingly transform into the symphonic score of God’s unfading love as the rivers of his mercy and grace rush over us.  The captivating sound of the water crashing over the rocks of our failure draws people to the water’s edge where they linger, listen and experience the beauty of the water crashing over them.  It’s the water that causes that which could be so grey and ugly to become something gleaming with life, a testament to God’s goodness.  They form markers, reflecting the points in our journey where God’s mercy reached and healed us in our nakedness.

God doesn’t try to extract the rocks from our life.  Instead the Author allows them to strike melodious chords, so that the anthems of his grace will crescendo into the roar of His glory.  The Psalmist declared, “Has the Lord redeemed you?  Then speak out!” (Psalm 107:2) These rocks of our past pain and failure testify of God’s ability to make all things new. They cause the waters of his grace to dance, to gleam, to roar, pronouncing His mighty glory, His goodness, His grace!

Today:  Do you carry rocks of shame, failure, or disappointment?  If you would surrender them to the Lord, those rocks that weigh you down would amplify the powerful wonder of His love towards you.  They may be the very rocks that draw people to the water’s edge to listen and discover His prevailing affection for them!