In our family we got into a discussion about the difference between rocks and stones. Is there a difference, or is it just two names for the same thing?

To geologists, who study the earth, as well as to builders and rock collectors, a rock is any mass of mineral matter that has not been changed by human hands. So it can be a huge chunk or a tiny pebble. A rock becomes a stone when it is cut and shaped to build something or to function in some way, like part of a building or roadway.

Now, we can’t impose those definitions on the ancient text of the Bible, but it’s interesting that more than 40 times in Scripture, God is referred to as “the Rock” or as “my rock”—often in the Psalms. Jesus Christ is also referred to as a rock, and he is called the capstone and cornerstone in references to the building of God’s church and kingdom.

What comes to mind when you think of a fortress? Something solid, sturdy, powerful, unshakable? God is all of those things. And in God, through the saving work of Jesus, we are secure, protected, safe. The power of God’s unfailing love is infinitely greater than any attacks trying to threaten us. We can “trust in him at all times.” If we trust in riches, or status, or the ways of this world, our efforts will fail. But “God is our refuge”; in him our destiny is secure. In God our souls find rest and salvation!