Joni reminds you that in the cleft of the rock, Christ’s hand covers you and makes you completely safe, secure, and unshakable no matter how fast life comes at you.
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SHAUNA: Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Today Joni has a beautiful old hymn for us—a hymn with such powerful words. Well, just listen.
(Joni sings:)
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, a wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, where rivers of pleasure I see.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love and covers me there with His hand
And covers me there with His hand.
JONI: Isn’t that a great image? How God hides us in the cleft of a rock, and covers us with His hand? I just love that image. Because sometimes when my sin feels so overwhelming, or I feel frightened of the future, man I want to be covered; I want safety, I want to be hidden in the shadow of the Rock of Ages. Being covered there with God’s hand is so comforting, reassuring—it’s safe; it’s secure. To think there’s a place carved out; a niche that God has prepared just for you. Plus, there are so many beautiful Bible verses that come to mind whenever I sing this song. I guess if you were to do a little Bible study right here, we could [I don’t know] flip to 1 Corinthians 10; discover that Christ is the rock. He’s the spiritual rock in which the Father hides us; which gives a fascinating insight into another passage in Exodus where it says, “The Lord said, there is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. And when my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in that rock and cover you with my hand.”
Oh, friend, no harm can come to you there. No evil can touch you. All of hell might rail against you, but in the cleft of that rock, Christ Jesus, you are so safe. No matter how terrible the hardships, no injury can be done to your soul when you are in Jesus. And I think that’s why I love this hymn so much. It’s a song of assurance; a song to instill confidence in God the Father that nothing’s going to hurt you when you’re covered in Christ. And for me in this wheelchair, with quadriplegia, and all that goes with it, it’s just so reassuring.
Isaiah 25 says of God, “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.” And Psalm 32:7 says of the Lord, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Wow! Such great Bible verses! And this little story has certainly underscored our theme today. So, if you have time, later on, maybe open up a hymnal and flip to this wonderful old hymn, “He Hideth My Soul.” The words are so powerful: “He hideth your soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hides your soul in the depths of His love and covers you there with His hand.” That makes a marvelous prayer, doesn’t it? I do it all the time, and I would encourage you to do the same. Christ is your rock. Immovable. Unshakeable. Safe. Secure. So run to Him today and hide.
© Joni and Friends