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By Joseph Perry

Have you ever felt as though you were between a rock and a hard place?

I was pumping gas in my truck last week at a convenient store. I asked a man on the other side of the gas pump how was he doing. He said, “if you really want to know, I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place. I’m in a place I don’t really know what to do. It seems as though my life is crumpling.” I told him it sounded like he needed to take it to the Lord immediately. The man said he needed to hear that. He needed to go to God, because he hadn’t really given that a thought.

If the truth be told, there are so many people who are between a rock and a hard place. If you are, you can go to the Rock Who specializes in handling hard places.

That it’s important to know that we can go up to God in the midst of our being between a rock and a hard place. There are times in life, especially right now with all that life brings, so many people who are in tough places don’t even know they have a Rock to take all of their burdens to. Oftentimes people are aware, but they feel unworthy to go to the Rock. As believers of the Lord, we must express to people who we come in contact with that when we are in between a rock and a hard place, we must share with them that God makes Himself available. He has an open door policy for all to come to Him in prayer.

Moses was one who was between a rock and a hard place because demands were high from the pressure of the children of Israel. Even after they had seen God use him, in leading them out of Egypt, they still grumbled. They talked about him behind his back, and some of them were bold enough to talk about him in front of his face. Some people are mean and cold, even though you’re giving everything you’ve got to help them along the way.

The stress of taking them to the Promised Land. His own personal struggles as a servant, as a leader, as a family man. It was one thing to bring them out, but it was another to get them where God wanted them, with their complaints.

It’s a rough place to be. It’s a rare place for some to be. But it’s a rock in a hard place for others.

God’s Spirit will encourage; He will prompt us to go to God in worship, not to wander, but to worship God, to have a conference with Him — to lay it all on the table. To say, “God, it’s more than I can handle. But you brought me to this point in life, now I need you to show me how to move forward.”

Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place? Have you ever been in a place that, wherever you turn, you had to work it out? One thing is for certain: God awaits us to come to Him to show us the way.

There, He is able not only to grant us peace but also to allow us to sense his presence. Lastly, he will expose His glory. If we come to Him yielding ourselves and expecting Him to pour into us, we will experience His glory like never before.

That when we come down, it doesn’t even matter that we are still in between our rocks and hard places. As long as the Rock is with us, we can go through life’s journey. As I told the man at the gas pump, you can go to the Rock, the Lord. Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there.

 

The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Perry is pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. Contact him at josephp134@gmail.com.