The Lord is The Rock Eternal Our Shalom

 

The concept of God being our Rock speaks of the enduring protection, safety, and security we have in him. We plant our feet on the Rock and find boldness and confidence. Throughout every age and season of our lives, God remains our faithful Rock of all Ages. The Lord’s salvation is the Hebrew word יהוה‎ yâshuw‘ah, almost identical to Yeshua. Jesus is our salvation that saves us and delivers us inside and out. 

The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.

Perfect peace is expressed in Hebrew by shalom. Shalom is a Hebrew method of putting great emphasis on a word, You will keep him in everything the word shalom implies: health, happiness, well-being, peace. 

The word translated mind is not the usual Hebrew word, but rather is a word meaning “creative imagination.” Isaiah’s thought is that he whose creative imagination, the seat of plans and ideas, is firmly founded on the eternal Lord, will enjoy shalom in all its implications.

A “steadfast mind”, the Hebrew word yêtser means “imagination” that forms and frames up. Imagination frames up one’s reality. It is unfortunate that many today have rejected the God-created imagination that each of us possesses. Our imagination must be set apart for God and continually made holy. The imagination, both good and evil, is a frequent concept in the Bible. The Hebrew word yêtser is found nine times in the Old Testament (Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Deut. 31:21; 1 Chron. 28:9; 29:18; Ps. 103:14; Isa. 26:3; 29:16; Hab. 2:18).

Lord Yahweh, you lift your mighty hand, but they do not see it. Let them witness how much you love your people and be ashamed. Let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.

The Hebrew word qavah (the root word for “rope”) means “to wait, to entwine.” Waiting on God means binding and connecting our hearts to who God is and to his promise. The Hebrew concept of waiting on the Lord is never a passive thing but active, full of hope and expectation. 

Lord Yahweh, you will establish peace and prosperity for us, for all we have accomplished is the result of what you work through us.

Lord Yahweh, our God, other lords have ruled over us, but we praise your name alone. Their dead don’t come back to life; their ghosts do not rise. For you have punished and destroyed them, wiping out even the memory of them. You have made our nation grow!

Lord Yahweh, you have made our nation grow; you have revealed your glory, and you have extended all the borders of the land.

Lord Yahweh, in their distress, they reached out to you. When you chastened them, they poured out prayer to you.

Lord Yahweh, we were like a pregnant woman going into labor pains—writhing, screaming, and ready to deliver, all because of you. We were full term. We pushed and strained, but we gave birth only to wind! We accomplished nothing and have not brought deliverance into the world, nor its inhabitants new life.

But your dead will live again! Their bodies will rise from the dead! It’s time to awaken and sing for joy, you dwellers in the dust! As the glistening, radiant dew refreshes the earth, so the Lord will awaken those dwelling among the dead.

Go, my people, into your inner chambers and close the doors behind you. Hide for a little while, until his indignation is over. For the Lord is coming out from his heavenly place to punish people for their sins. The earth itself will expose the blood spilled upon it, and the ground will no longer hide its slain. Isaiah 26 ~PTP & NSFLB

LIVING WATER IN THE WILDERNESS

Consider this: As a servant of Christ, you will one day enter a season of helplessness where you no longer call the shots and know what to do. It will seem as if you don't have what it takes to survive—finding yourself in a place and a season where only Christ will be your strength.

The One whose name is Living Water is within you. This wonderful Jesus brings you a life-giving stream, fulfilling every need no matter how difficult the many surprises of life can be. He is within you as a well of water "springing up and flooding you with endless life" (John 4:14)!

This "gushing fountain" begins to flow inside until praise rises up out of you again. Before you know it, the springs are watering everything around you—and every dry place within you. You will see situations differently, you will feel differently about the people around you, and you will see things you didn't even notice before. When Jesus shows up in the wilderness, it disappears. It becomes a garden.

The Lord will always show you where to go and what to do, filling you with refreshment when you are dry and in a difficult place.

"...He will continually restore strength to you, so you will flourish like a well-watered garden and like an ever-flowing, trustworthy spring of blessing." (Isaiah 58:11 TPT)

   Your Desert Will Blossom Like a Rose

We learn in a difficult season that even though we may be in a wilderness, our hearts don't have to be a barren wasteland. Our wilderness starts growing flowers when Jesus flows from within us. His presence satisfies the deep thirst that dries up the soul and places us in a weary land or a weary season. Whoever heard of roses blooming in a desert? But read what Isaiah says:

"...The desert will blossom like a rose and rejoice! Every dry and barren place will burst forth with abundant blossoms, dancing and spinning with delight..." (Isaiah 35:1-2 TPT)

Your wilderness (your life with its surprises and setbacks) will blossom with a rose; and that rose is Christ! Jesus, the Rose, will be found in your desert days, bringing a new fragrance and a new song. What you thought was an impossible climate for overcoming will become the canvas for a rose.

Miracles are waiting to be found in your wilderness. Even in a wilderness, God can work in power. He doesn't need perfection to pull off a miracle. He's done it before with nothing but chaos all around. It was called creation! There is no shortage of power with God. He can make lame ones leap and broken ones sing. Most of us have an attitude that translates the word "wilderness" into "something terrible." But in fact, the Bible teaches that the wilderness is the place where miracles are born, the place where we hear God speak, and the place where He truly reveals Himself to us. We have found our greatest difficulties in life to be the incubator of miracles!

What about you? Are you finding yourself in a wilderness? A difficult place where pressures surround you? Have you found the only way out is to lean on your Beloved?

God will even lead you there, into your very own personal wilderness. That's right. Just like it was for the Hebrews, between you and your promised land lies a wilderness of discovery and, at times, disappointment. Yet in the wilderness we find that the surprises of life yield the most beautiful fruit. The supernatural power of God is more often displayed in a wilderness than in a church service. God will use your wilderness to release the virtues of Christ growing within!

~Brian Simmons

Stairway Ministries

The Passion Translation

Email: brian@passiontranslation.com

Website: https://www.thepassiontranslation.com/blog/

Brian Simmons is known as a passionate lover of God. With his wife Candice and their three children, he spent nearly eight years in the tropical rain forest of the Darien Province of Panama as a church planter, translator, and consultant. After their ministry in the jungle, Brian was instrumental in planting a thriving church in New England (U.S.), and now travels full-time as a speaker and Bible teacher. He is also the lead translator for The Passion Translation Project which will result in a new, dynamic version of the Bible for this generation. He has been happily married to Candice for over forty-three years and is known to boast regularly of his children and grandchildren.