Mensa Otabil - Lead Me to the Rock
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Welcome to day number seven of our 40 days of power. So we look at Psalm 61, verses 2 and 3. From the end of the earth, I will cry to you. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. Finding shelter in a storm is one of the coziest feelings in life. One of the pleasant memories I have of my childhood is being safe at home during a storm. I’m sure you have had that experience before when it’s raining all around you, but you are safe in a storm, and you feel comforted.
That is what God is to us. He is our shelter. So that when there is a storm around us, and there is trial, and there is difficulty, and there is danger around us, the Lord keeps us safe. David is the writer of Psalm 61, and he writes to show us where to go when our hearts are overwhelmed by life’s problems because sooner or later, you’re going to go through situations that will make you feel overwhelmed. Where do you go? Where do you direct your steps? David shows us, and in the psalm, he describes where he finds himself, and he says, «From the end of the earth, I will cry to you.» What did he mean by that? «From the end of the earth.»
It’s a phrase he used to show us how distant he feels from God. He feels alone, isolated, and lonely. It’s almost as if he’s been thrown to the end of the earth, and he’s in a place where nobody cares for him. Nobody understands him. So when we have prayed sometimes over and over again about a situation and we’re not seeing answers to our prayer, sometimes we feel we are at the end of the earth. We feel isolated. David also says, «My heart is overwhelmed. " It’s almost as if darkness has covered him. He felt this sense of isolation, and it’s almost as if something very dark is covering him.
How did David respond to this? What direction did he take? The first thing he says is, «I cried to God.» I cried to God. He cried, but not to himself, not within himself, but to God. You know, many times we cry, and we cry within ourselves or we cry to people, but David cried to God. It’s okay to cry, but whom do you cry to? Whom do you take your worries to? Whom do you take your anxieties to? That’s what we are doing these 40 days. We’re crying to the Lord because some of us feel like we are at the end of the earth, or our hearts are overwhelmed, and there is a sense of pain in our hearts.
Turn your pain into prayer and focus it on the Lord. Then he said, «I cried to the Lord,» and I pray to God that He will lead me to the rock that is higher than myself. Even in anguish, David knew that there is a place of safety, a place of comfort, and a place of security. Just to let you know, God has a place for you. He has a place of safety for you. You may be in the rain, beaten by the rain, but there is a safe harbor for you. There is a safe place for you. There is a rock higher than yourself.
What you need to pray is for God to lead you to that place. It doesn’t stop the storm. The storm will still be there, but you will be safe in the midst of the storm. So David says, «Lord, my heart is overwhelmed, but lead me to the rock that is higher than myself.» I pray for you that God will give you guidance and order your steps to the place of safety that He has appointed for you. No matter how overwhelmed you are, there is a secure place God wants to take you to. You will find yourself in that place.
If you trust God for that, let’s pray together. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you are my rock and my shelter. Lead me to your place of deliverance and safety in Jesus' name.» Amen.