“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2)
Whenever I read this psalm, I think of Trek where the goal is to be lead to a rock that is higher than we are. A group of us are in Colorado this morning getting ready to begin our journey, so it seems like a perfect day to look at this psalm.
David begins this psalm with a plea that God would hear his prayer, but notice where he says he is when he is praying:
“Listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.”
In our modern idiom David may say, “listen to me now, I’m at the end of my rope and my grip is slipping!”
Have you ever felt like you were at the end of your rope? Maybe difficult things kept piling on, or the pile of difficult things never seemed to get any smaller. For one reason or another, most of us come to a time in our lives when it feels like our strength is failing and time is running out.
In those moments, we cry out to our Father with David, “lead me to a rock that is higher than I am right now. I am here, and here is tough, I want to be there where you are, my Rock and my Salvation.”
The psalms teach us that the way forward in those difficult moments is always to remember the character of our God. Worship and praise truly are a corrective for our perspective. But more than a corrective, they are always the next appropriate step to take when we don’t know how to hold on any longer.
Notice how David ends this psalm, “So I will ever sing your praise as I perform my vows day after day.” You see, consistent praise is the content of a life of faithfulness. When you are down in the dumps, lift up His name. He is always worthy of that no matter where we find ourselves, and it is a wonderful way for us to express our commitment to follow Him all the way to the end when we feel like are at the end of the earth.
– Deryk Pritchard, Preacher