The Rock that is higher than I

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:1-2

Years ago, when I was in Mexico in Oaxaca near its southern border, I felt really far from home. In fact, it felt as if I was at "the end of the earth." But it was comforting to me to realize the truth of this Psalm, that even from the ends of the earth the saint can cry to God and he will hear and attend to the prayers of his loved ones. We cannot get too far from God, for the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. He is everywhere present and nowhere absent. Indeed, the eyes of the Lord are in everyplace, beholding the evil and the good (Prov. 15:3).

But it is not just that we can cry to the Lord from anyplace, but that we can cry to the Lord in any situation. Like King David, we should pray "when my heart is overwhelmed." He is not just there when we feel good or when things are generally going well. He is also there when you are in the depths (Ps. 130:1), or when your heart is overwhelmed, when the tasks seem too daunting or the difficulty too much or the pain too great.

Yet, it is not just that the Lord sees, it is not just that the Lord is concerned, but also that the Lord is able to meet our needs and to give us ample grace to meet those needs. The Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not want (Ps. 23:1). He is "the rock that is higher than I." He lifts the poor out of the pit and the needy from depths and puts us on a rock and establishes our goings. Praise him and cry to him, for he hears and he delivers.