Skip to main content

Gibraltar

 

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. (Isaiah 26:4)

          Today’s passage comes from the Bible website I use. I decided to go with it because I struggle so much with the issue of trust. If you are of a certain age, the phrase the Rock eternal might being to mind a logo of an insurance company. It’s the Rock of Gibraltar. Now, if you’re like me, you may have thought Prudential chose this logo because it’s a huge rock and rocks are strong and steady. I learned this morning that’s not why.

          Toward the end of the Revolutionary War in America, Spain decided to “help” American independence by joining France in a war against England in Europe. The blunt truth of the matter was that they wanted to take some real estate away from the British who had occupied it. Helping the Americans, well, that was just another way to bloody King George’s nose. The siege began in 1779 and ended in 1783. The Spaniards didn’t do a great job because at least two shipments made it to the rock to resupply the British. Eventually, the French joined in the siege, but even together, they failed to capture the rock. It was the longest continuous siege in history, at least in terms of physical warfare. And I was today years old when I learned this.

          The analogy that Scripture suggests is that God is like Gibraltar. Throw everything you have at Him and you may as well have dumped it overboard. Those who build on that Rock aren’t free from attack. They are besieged, but not defeated. It’s not that survival is easy, it’s that the Rock makes it possible.

          Of course, it’s reasonable to ask what would have happened if the British had not trusted in Gibraltar. The most obvious answers are that they would have tried to flee to England (and possibly been captured or killed,) or they would have surrendered (with the same results.) It wouldn’t have mattered how much protection Gibraltar afforded if they had not trusted it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more