Psalm 61:2-3 (NKJV)
From the end of the earth I will call 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.
Have you been there? You are at the end of your rope as circumstances seem to be spiraling out of control. You can’t think clearly. Your emotions overwhelm you. You see no way out. It feels like you are drowning. Perhaps it was a diagnosis for you or a loved one. Maybe the destruction of a relationship or the wild wanderings of a child. For some it is a financial avalanche that threatens to bury them…while others may be overwhelmed by the effects of their sinful choices. David was a man deeply acquainted with this type of agony. So was Christ. Most likely, you are, too.
David never wandered too far from the Promised Land, but when his own son, Absalom, had plotted behind his back – with his closest advisor – and successfully taken over control, he found himself on the run once again (2 Sam. 15-18). He may not have literally been “at the end of the earth,” but it sure felt like it. Considering David’s plight, Spurgeon remarked, “When my heart is overwhelmed: –when the huge waves of trouble wash over me, and I am completely submerged, not only as to my head, but also my heart. It is hard to pray when the very heart is drowning, yet gracious men plead best at such times. Tribulation brings us to God and brings God to us. Faith’s greatest triumphs are achieved in her heaviest trials.” It’s a beautiful thought, of course, but a hard reality to manage.
When a person is drowning, they can’t save themselves. There noting to hold onto…and nothing to stand on. Whatever strength they have simply isn’t enough…and no amount of effort will rescue them. But what if they suddenly see a large rock jutting out of the water? And what if they see a strong person on that rock with a lifeline? “From the end of the earth I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” All of a sudden that rock becomes a refuge…a strong tower…a dwelling place…a shelter. The theme of God as “our rock” appears 20 times in the Psalms, as well it should, but how often do we look to that Rock when we are drowning? Is this Rock and Strong Tower the first place you run to when “huge waves of trouble wash over you,” or do you run to your friends, or distraction, or to an addiction? Do you hide in a corner wrapped in despair…or do you hit your knees empowered by hope and faith?
Nothing gets wasted in God’s economy, but especially when the markets are down, so to speak. If you think you are “strong enough” to handle it on your own, you are sorely mistaken. Besides, your strength is limited and frail, as opposed to the unlimited and indestructible strength of the Solid Rock of the Universe. So where do you place your investment? God’s Word. God’s Spirit. God’s Presence. God’s Ears. God’s People. God’s Son.
“My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus Christ, my righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.” – Edwin Mote
