The Shifting Sands of Hope

David images the presence of the Lord as the rock in several passages in the book of psalms

Psalm 61 verse 2 says,

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.

The ends of the earth in this verse is symbolic of the end of hope, the end of anything David could do, the end of ideas that were workable and the end of a traceable path from that point and when he saw that was the case, he thoughts turned to the Lord where the hopelessness of the end could now be turned into a new dawn of hope in the rising presence of the Lord for him.

The imaging here might be of David traveling in the hot desert sands and growing rather faint physically, and maybe spiritually and emotionally and for sure far from the more familiar sightings of his local homeland..

In those days, without things like a Google map, travelers on routes relied heavily on landmarks and in desert conditions a giant rock would be a landmark among the sand dunes.

Even if momentarily the sand dunes and structures in the desert could be mapped in some way, giant sandstorms could shift the topography rather quickly and going back a similar route might not reveal the same formations of hills.

This is why a large rock like structures could be used as the beacon to help pathways to and fro that operated as something like a lighthouse on a potential stormy or even frightingly uncontrollable sea...

The metaphor is quite apt for today and there is the need to have plans, figure about an approach, and use time and resources in the best possible ways without really having the best information available.

Matthew Chapter 7 verses 24 through 27 reads as follows from the NIV version of the Bible:

24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

The image of the house is really a representation of an overall approach to building your lifestyle.

The reality is that there is no structural approach to living that doesn't have the potential to go the way of shifting sands and that includes even the shifting sands of yourself and your own shifting array of ideas as to what to do.

Another aspect of this is the impersonal elements involved. If the stock market crashes, prices go up for everything, whatever is causing this shift in the sands did not personally consult you about the changes.

if the market for a carefully planned career path dries up, this market did not consult you personally before it shifted into full desert like conditions.

Even if someone is an across the board expert, that still doesn't guarantee free and easy passage through the shifting sands of the desert and stormy conditions that are beyond the control of the expert

One thing that may come up is how people feel bad that well planned ideas just haven't hit home.

The wanted the home run and just about struck out.

There can be of self recrimination when this happens and while there is enough blame to go around self blame is also a problem.

But these scriptures show that things aren't necessarily easy and smooth especially is all your hopes are self driven and there is no reliance on the "rock", as in the guiding presence of the Lord.

In the time of David it would be just about impossible that someone could find there way around in the shifting sand formations of the desert without the rock as a beacon and marker.

Without this, a return route could be just about unrecognizable.

One of the things that are like shifting sand for us as individuals today are problems which take on a greater proportion than the aerial view will give

There ware some wonderful aerial pictures of people having fun on the beach, and from views like that, problems that any one person might have seem submerged and really small in the sight of everybody seemingly having fun on the beach. Yet the view of the person with the problem, whether it be personal, relational, financial and the like, is that these problems loom large to them and on top of that the sands are shifting in ways that aren't predictable, immediately discernable and are in no way manageable.

The truth, is that no one is that well positioned that this might not happen and things might shift in unfavorable and unknowable ways and as they say nothing is outright guaranteed.

The rock will be there, the presence of the Lord will be there. The wise thing to do is pay attention to the presence of the Lord all the way through and be practiced in doing that through important means given such as prayer and meditation before the Lord and cohorting with others who are versed in doing that

Society as a whole has drummed up some great new things such as the internet, cell phones and at times increasingly easy to use modern technological devices and the ability to communicate around the world is rather instantaneous.

The scriptures show that there will be sand, it is unavoidable, and it will shift.

But there is no substitute for seeing the Lord as the rock that sustains your way. Anything can arise so suddenly and rapidly, like a sand storm in the desert, that to expect to have the ability to control and manipulate events and maneuver through all circumstances to favorable outcomes might be hoping for too much without the presence and favor of the Lord.

While the relationship with the Lord shouldn't be predicated on how things go, the idea of the uncertain foundation of the sand, verses the sure foundation of the presence of the Lord, is quite start in terms of the contrast.

In the manner of prayer, you can ask the Lord to light your way, and to be the rock for you in any situation you might encounter

As you find yourself in shifting sands, quick sand, uncertainties of all types, doubt and so on, realize that this is just the way it is and the ongoing presence of the Lord as the rock, as the lighthouse on the seas, if the only hope for lasting remedies and reliable help in the ultimate view of things.

So for those who are encountering reversals, new difficulties of any type, realize that the footing is on the uncertain sands, the words in the Bible do cite this as a reality, and there is no need to castigate yourself for losing your way as you aren't the only one and these shifting sands can be rather daunting and overwhelming to deal with and the Lord has the power and wish to be there for you in these very difficulties in whatever uncertain form they take for you and maybe for others.

The contrast is rather straightforward, either you are on the shifting sands or you are not.

The thing to do is not beat yourself up, if the sand is shifting under you at every turn, but turn to the Lord and that is about it, and that is the solution presented and there is no other lighthouse or beacon that knows you as who you are, anything that mankind can manufacture in increasing technology is impersonal to you and who you are, there is only one place to go, where you are known, and can be helped on that basis of the knowing relationship of prayer and fellowship with the Lord who knows you and wants you to come into fellowship with him and walk in his power and might for you.