Do You Trust in Rock Candy?

I remember the first time I ate rock candy. I was thinking two things: this stuff looks a lot like the rocks in my rock collection, and this stuff is really good!

My cousins and I had been out playing and we stopped to get some rock candy. I paid 14 cents for the whole bag.

I was a little hesitant about putting these rocks in my mouth, but I was delighted when I did. The taste was very sweet. And I was surprised that when I bit down on the crystals, the pressure of my bite caused the candy to shatter in my mouth.

I polished off about half of the bag and shoved the rest into my pockets. And off we went to play.

At the end of that hot summer day, I remembered I still had a whole handful of rock candy in my pocket. I reached in my pocket and found that the rock candy had all melted together. It couldn’t take the heat.

While that rock candy looked like a rock when I bought it, I found that it could not take the pressure of my bite, and it could not take the heat.

That rock candy is a good picture of how we can put our hope and trust in things that just don’t last. We look to things that appear dependable… things that look sturdy... only to find out that what we thought seemed immovable ended up melting when things heated up.

In the Old Testament book of Psalms, David points us to the only thing that will stand the heat… the only thing that will last.

Look at what David says in Psalm 31:1-3:

In You, O LORD, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me (emphasis added).

If you study the writings of David, you’ll find he talks about God being his Rock again and again. It was something that was engrained in David’s life.

When he was faced with enemies, God was David’s Rock. When David needed guidance, God was his Rock. When David was in trouble because of his own sin, he turned to God as his Rock.

And notice this: David didn’t just say God was a rock, or God was the Rock. He said, “You are my Rock.” David made it personal.

Let me ask you today, do you feel cast down or discouraged because someone or something you thought would be there for you vanished when things in life started to heat up? If so, I have an awesome word of encouragement for you today:

God can take the pressure. He can take the heat. And if you will make Him your Rock, you won’t shatter under the pressures of life, and you will not melt and wither under the heat of a trial. You will be all right.

Perhaps today you admit that you need help. You need God to intervene in your life. You’re in trouble. If this is where you are, I’d like to give you four things you can do.

1. Make the decision to make God your Rock personally.

Put your trust in Him so that He’s not just the Rock, but He is your Rock. Let Him be your only expectation… your only foundation.

The way you do this is to make God’s Word a rock… to put your trust in His Word and to demonstrate that trust through your actions. Obey His Word in everything, even if that means blessing those who revile you. When you obey and rely upon the Word of God, it will hold you up.

2. Speak to the Rock through prayer and praise.

In Exodus 17, Moses struck the rock with his staff and waters flowed out to satisfy Israel’s thirst. In Numbers 20, the people were thirsty again, but this time God instructed Moses to speak to the rock.

According to 1 Corinthians 10:4, that rock represented Christ. He was smitten once on the cross for our redemption, and now all we need to do is “speak to Him” in prayer and in praise for the life-giving waters to flow to us.

Make your supplications with thanksgiving to the One who paid the price for your total redemption.

3. Make sure there isn’t unfulfilled obedience in your life.

In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

You and I must make sure we’re living a life of obedience, practicing what Jesus taught and commanded. You shouldn’t go to God expecting to get things until you do what He has told you to do.

4. Wait patiently and expectantly for God.

Psalm 62:5-6 says, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.”

Once you’ve made God your Rock, once you’ve spoken to the Rock in prayer and praise, and once you’ve made sure there’s no unfulfilled obedience in your life, there’s only one thing left to do: Wait patiently and expectantly for Him.

Psalms says to wait silently. And the word silently means to be still, to be calm. Don’t get uptight. Don’t become disquieted. Just rest. Once you’ve done your part, let God do His.

Today, I urge you to make God your Rock. Don’t let yourself down by depending on the “rock candy” of this world any longer. Remember, God can take the heat and the pressure. So put your hope and trust in Him today.