Tirad Pass
by Oliver Carlos
Today is December 2. The Battle of Tirad Pass happened on this day more than 120 years ago. Dubbed as “The Battle in the Clouds”, this is one of the most-mentioned events in Philippine History classes.
During the Filipino-American War (1899–1902), Gen. Gregorio ”Goyo” Del Pilar positioned his unit of 60 troops high on the slope of Mt. Tirad in Ilocos Sur. They dug up 3 trenches, with the 3rd one located near the peak. Hot on their trail was the enemy which was larger in number and stronger in firepower.
From where the Filipino soldiers were positioned, they had an excellent vantage point of the narrow pass below them. When the American soldiers traversed the pass, Goyo’s men just rained down bullets on them.
For several hours, Tirad Pass was impenetrable for the Americans. The Filipinos had just established for themselves a strong natural fortress.
Around 3,000 years before Goyo’s time, there was another handsome young man on the run. David was being pursued by King Saul for unjust reasons. He hid himself in the wilderness for days, eluding Israel’s army.
The landscape in Israel is different from ours. They had large massive rock structures with caves and cervices in them. David found refuge in one of these natural structures. Thus, when he wrote many of his psalms, he compared his hiding place to God. We can learn from David’s songs that we can experience peace and security when we entrust to God our circumstance, just like the psalmist when he made the rocky mountain his very own fortress.
Here are excerpts from David’s psalms, written when he was a fugitive running from Saul’s army:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;” (2 Samuel 22:2, NLT)
“The Lord is my rock, and my safe place, and the One Who takes me out of trouble. My God is my rock, in Whom I am safe. He is my safe-covering, my saving strength, and my strong tower.” (Psalm 18:2, NLV)
Years later, when David was king and an old man, he was on the run again. This time, his pursuer was his very own son Absalom, who just staged a coup de etat against his father. David was outnumbered, outpowered. David ran to his very own and same old reliable hiding place in the wilderness. Just like the in the past, he got the same results. We read in Psalm 3:3–4 (MSG):
“But you, God, shield me on all sides;
You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
With all my might I shout up to God,
His answers thunder from the holy mountain.”
Are you surrounded on all sides by multitudes of troubles and worries? Run to God, make him your safe dwelling place. Pray sincerely in your heart a prayer similar to David’s prayer in Psalm 31:2 (NLV):
“Turn Your ear to me, and be quick to save me. Be my rock of strength, a strong place to keep me safe.”
He will never fail you. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God is our ageless, timeless Rock of Refuge.
