How I love God Pt 19: Lead me to the Rock
Psalm 61:1-5, 8 1Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. 4I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. 5For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 8Then I will ever sing in praise of your name and fulfill my vows day after day.
Philippians 4:6-7 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5-6 5Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
I suppose every believer knows there are moments in life when he or she simply does not know what to do. We may know what we want to do, but that does not necessarily mean we know what is right. Problems can become so large that they seem to tower over us. Fear can become so loud that it drowns out faith. Decisions can become so complicated that we are afraid of making the wrong choice. I’ve been in this place more than once in my life and I remember feeling so overwhelmed.
It is in moments like these that David's prayer in Psalm 61 becomes especially meaningful:
"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
What a powerful prayer. David does not pretend that everything is fine. He does not deny his distress. He simply recognizes that where he is standing is not high enough. He needs to be lifted above his circumstances and brought to a place of greater security. Sometimes our own wisdom or strength, or resources, or understanding are not enough.
But God is enough. Psalm 61 presents a believer crying out to God for help, protection, and direction. Philippians 4:6–7 teaches us to bring our anxieties to God through prayer and thanksgiving, while Proverbs 3:5–6 reminds us not to depend entirely upon our own understanding but to acknowledge God in everything.
Hear my cry
At the start of the psalm David does something every one of us has done: He cries out. There is something encouraging about that because he does not approach God pretending to be stronger than he is. He does not disguise his emotions. He does not pretend that fear does not exist. He cries out. The thing is sometimes we think faith means never admitting that we are afraid. But really, faith means knowing where to take our fear. David's prayer demonstrates that we do not have to clean ourselves up emotionally before approaching God. We can come exactly as we are. It’s OK to say, "Lord, I am afraid," or "Lord, I don't understand," or "Lord, I don't know what to do." Maybe the most important thing to say is, "Lord, I need You." All of those things are prayer.
Philippians 4:6 gives us remarkably practical instruction:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
God is not interested only in the major crises of our lives. He invites us to bring everything to Him. The large problem. The small problem. The decision. The relationship. The financial concern. The uncertain future. The burden we cannot explain. God says, "Bring it to Me."
And then Paul gives us an important promise:
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).
God does not promise that every circumstance will immediately change, but He does promise that His peace can guard us while the circumstances remain. That means prayer is not merely a way of changing our situation, but really, it’s God's way of changing us in the middle of our situation.
Lead me to the Rock
David has just admitted how weak he is, but instead of wallowing in it he does something entirely unexpected. He says, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." The "rock" represents stability, security, strength, and protection. David is essentially saying, "God, I cannot remain where I am. I need You to take me somewhere I cannot reach by myself." There are times in my life when I try to do everything myself, not letting anyone help. But I come out of those times realizing "I am not enough."
Proverbs 3:5–6 says: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Notice what we are told not to do: Do not lean entirely on your own understanding.
God’s way are higher than ours; His understanding is greater than ours. We see today. God sees tomorrow. We see one piece of the puzzle. God sees the entire picture. We see the problem. God sees the purpose. We see the obstacle. God sees the path beyond it. There are times when God will lead us in a direction that does not make immediate sense. Abraham had to leave his homeland without knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Moses had to stand before Pharaoh knowing that the Israelites were powerless against Egypt. Joshua had to lead Israel toward the Jordan River before the waters parted. Peter had to step out of the boat before he discovered that he could walk on water. Faith often requires movement before understanding. The rock is higher because God sees farther than we do.
Give me shelter under Your wings
Sometimes the stability provided by God is not enough; sometimes we need shelter from the storm. It helps to remember that God is not distant. The image of God’s wings is of a mother hen gathering her young beneath her wings when danger approaches. The young chicks are not protected because they are powerful. They are protected because they are close to the one who is powerful. Psalm 91:4 says:
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge."
Our security does not come from being strong enough to handle everything. Our security comes from staying close to God, but sometimes we make the Christian life unnecessarily complicated. We think we need to understand everything before we can trust God. But Scripture repeatedly brings us back to something much simpler: Stay close to Him. Jesus said:
"Remain in me, as I also remain in you."
—John 15:4
The branch does not survive by trying harder. It survives by remaining connected to the vine. In the same way, we find spiritual strength by remaining connected to Christ.
And make my paths straight
We have seen how David cries out to God, how he seeks the stability pf His presence, and how he seeks the shelter of His protection, and now we find that the key to all of that is obedience.
"In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
This is where trust becomes obedience. It is one thing to say, "God, I trust You." It is another thing to actually allow Him to direct our decisions. The phrase "in all your ways" leaves very little room for exceptions. God wants our obedience in everything we do: Our relationships; our finances; our careers; our families; our conversations; our priorities; our private lives; our future. Everything belongs under God's direction, but this does not mean God gives us a detailed map of every event in advance. One thing He does do is walk with us on our journey. Psalm 119:105 says:
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
Notice that a lamp typically illuminates the next few steps rather than the entire road. He gives us enough light to take the next faithful step, and then another, and we soon discover we have made it all the way to the end.
What about me?
Believer, we don’t have to know everything or have every answer. We should trust God enough to allow Him to guide and shape our lives. Recently I was in a very difficult situation in which it seemed every action I took or decision made brought more struggle. Finally, I just said, “Enough!” and let the situation come to a conclusion. This was me letting God take charge and work things out. They did work out, the situation settled and I moved on.
There will always be circumstances higher than us. Problems larger than us. Questions beyond us. Decisions that exceed our wisdom. But none of these things are higher than God. That is why David does not ask God to make the rock lower; he asks God to lead him to the Rock that is higher than he is.
When your heart is overwhelmed, cry out. When your understanding fails, trust. When fear surrounds you, take refuge. When the road ahead is uncertain, follow. And when you cannot see where the path leads, remember who is leading you.