The Immovable Rock

Lucy closed her book with a THWAP! "I've studied and studied until I can't even see the numbers on the pages anymore, Mom, but I just know I'm going to fail that math test tomorrow.""But you've studied hard, and you've prayed about the test too," said Mom. "Now just do the best you can and trust the Lord to help you."Lucy sighed. "It's just that I keep thinking about how terrible I am at math. I just know I'll do the problems all wrong.""Lucy, do you remember the time we were out on that big rock at the ocean? It was so big, and we just stayed out there, enjoying all the space. We didn't notice the tide coming in, and we got caught out there, remember?""Yeah," said Lucy. "A storm came up before we could get back to shore, and the winds and waves beat against that rock. That was one of the scariest times of my life!"Mom nodded. "It was scary, all right. Do you remember what Dad said?""He told me not to be afraid. He said something like, 'We may tremble on the rock, but the rock will never tremble under us.' And he was right--the rock held firm, and we were safe." She paused for a moment. "Dad said God is our Rock and that even when we face difficult times, we can rest on Him and don't need to be afraid.""Right," said Mom. "Jesus died to save us from sin so we could have eternal peace and joy with Him, and He promises to be with us and help us in everything we face--in hard times like when Grandpa died last summer, but also in everyday situations like math tests.""So I didn't even have to study after all?" Lucy said with a grin.Mom smiled. "You know I don't mean that. You still need to study, and you did, so now you can trust God with the outcome. That doesn't mean things always turn out the way we hope they will--you might still fail the test even though you studied. But whatever happens, God is always faithful and will be there for us. We can trust Him to help us and to use our efforts to do good things." –Mary Rose Pearson