The thing of utmost importance that sustains, strengthens, and keeps a person through a crisis is having a solid foundation on something. A rock that they can fall back on when everything falls apart. For some it’s wealth, for others it’s their qualifications and for others, it might be their background, status, job title, health, or even family and friends. Many things they feel will not fail them in times of trouble. But many a time, their rock turns out to be a mirage and not solid enough to hold their hopes, dreams, and future. And the more I think of it, especially during the times we live in where we hear of a death, COVID, despair, and hopelessness. It is important to truly uncover the real rock that is a solid foundation on which humanity can stand.
Firstly, let’s test these other rocks that we put all our dependence on.
Wealth and Status
Wealth, background, and status seems to a big one. It is something many of us take pride in, as it provides a sense of security that we have enough savings, and no crisis can shake us. But if you ask a wise old person who has seen the world evolve, they will point to situations like the Gujarat earthquake, the Syrian crisis, the Holocaust and so many more throughout history. In these situations, people were ripped from their wealth and all their possessions and left to fend for themselves as a refugees without any rank or status. The same people who drove expensive cars and were waited upon by many servants had to become servants themselves to feed their families. Wealth surely is fleeting, and is not a solid rock you can stand on. You’re lucky and blessed if nothing of that sort happens to you, but there is no guarantee that it will not. It might not even take a war but just a small lump in your body that doctors cannot cure to make us realize that wealth can’t do anything for us.
Career and Education
The next thing we tend to depend on and place a lot of confidence in is our career and our qualifications. Our abilities to generate wealth and claw a place in history. Every one of us wants to make history. We thrive on the success stories of billionaires who went from rags to riches, and we want to be like that. With all our heart, many of us work towards becoming the next ‘big thing.’ But again, this rock too under the litmus test of crisis fails miserably too. These success stories are accompanied by stories of failure, where giants in their careers have fallen to insignificance. If you have worked long enough in a company you will notice that new technologies and newer ways of thinking always pop up and challenge the way things are done. Giving way to a younger generation to rule leaving the older irrelevant and insignificant. I mean let’s not go that far, the truth is I have seen people lose their jobs over a day’s notice even after their heart and soul had been invested in the company. They barely even pass the reception desk a month after they were cut loose. This rock not only becomes sinking sand but turns around and betrays you. I say this with a lot of evidence. Furthermore, when you read the autobiography of millionaires who make work their rocks? It is filled with regret from missing ball games with their kids, to estranged marriages. And frail and helpless millionaires at the end of their lives warning others that their rock left them high and dry.
There are so many more rocks that we hold on to for dear life. I am guilty of so many that have left me high and dry. But I do not want to describe each one of them here. I think if we all sit and think about our lives, we will find these undependable things we rely on. I mean even a well-meaning and loving family might not be a rock that lasts. I can say this with confidence because I lost my mom, early in life when I needed her the most. She was my rock. But I realized that though she was well-meaning, she could not control her exit time. Her time was not in her hands. I needed something that could hold my time and assure me that even the inevitable, death is not the end.
And there it was, a beautiful realization, “Christ is the solid rock I stand on, all other ground is sinking sand”. Don’t get me wrong I am not professing religion as a rock, that’s the worst kind of quicksand that mirages as a rock. I am talking about a relationship with the person Jesus who made us and put us on this Earth for a beautiful purpose. And although we humans messed things up, He still came to rescue us, and that’s a story you should read more of in the Bible. It’s the love story of a dad rescuing his kids and offering us a choice to follow Him. And the best part is, He is the rock that never fails. Even death didn’t stop Him from offering us refuge in His presence. He gives us an assurance that death isn’t the end and no matter what happens He will always be with us and strengthen us. There are so many stories carved in the walls of history that speak of people who were imprisoned and killed for their faith; But sang songs of praise instead of despair even in their last minutes. One of those recorded events in the Bible was when a young man, Stephen, was stoned to death but his face looked like an angel gazing up into heaven knowing that God, his dad, was waiting to welcome him home.
That’s the kind of assurance I want to live with. The kind that removes fears in the face of crisis, death, poverty, sickness, or abandonment. It’s rock-solid, a foundation that doesn’t ever break or give us up. The Bible says that he holds our hopes and dreams, and gives us a full life. And in this world where one must run a rat race, scramble for recognition, manipulate and pull others down for success, Jesus says that He is a fountain of living water that gives us every satisfying thing we need. Even when we are cornered on every side. What a beautiful rock to stand on indeed.
Written by: Sanjana Kapoor
Our Daily Masala 