Cling to the Rock that is Higher than you

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. 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.” Psalm 61:1-2 NKJV

After finishing up the Dogwood Canyon 50k trail run late Saturday afternoon (after nearly eight hours of running), my husband (who was waiting for me at the finish line after completing the 25k earlier) and I headed back to our room to prepare for day two of the Dogwood Canyon Challenge, which would require completing another 15k of trails. And if the thought of another morning spent running up and down the Ozark trails didn’t fill my heart with joy, knowing that I had the blessing of delivering the prerace devotional before  the race began did. “Lord,” I prayed as I propped up my tired feet and began to prepare Sunday’s message, “what would you have me say to encourage these runners tomorrow to complete life’s race when the course before them is hard?” 

And as the runners gathered around before the start of Sunday’s race, this is what I said…

“In the first two verses of Psalm 61, David prayed the prayer, ‘Hear my cry, O God;… 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.’

Let me tell you, if you were here yesterday for the 25k or 50k, this was undoubtedly a prayer that you prayed as well. I know I did. Many times in fact over the course of 31 miles I cried out to the Lord for help. Not only were the hills challenging but the massive amounts of mud from the rain made it very slippery to navigate at several points. 

And I imagine it will be that way today as well. Which means it’s a great time to remind you that on the course and in life, there’s nowhere you can go that God can’t hear your prayer and no predicament you can find yourself in that God can’t help you get out of… even those that make you feel as if you’re drowning under the weight of things, slipping out of control, or utterly and completely defeated. 

This was the emotional state David was in when he penned these words.  And even though David was a great king, he knew that there was a King higher than him. The King of kings and the only One who could come to his rescue. 

You see, David was at a point where he needed secure footing because his circumstances were out of his control and he was slipping into despair. Because of that, David knew he needed three things…

First. He needed the rock, a place of stability and security, something strong enough to stand against crashing waves or quaking earth and solid enough to gain a much needed foothold. 

Second. He needed a rock that is higher than I, a place above himself, above his wisdom, above his abilities.

And lastly…David needed God to lead him to that rock. David was unable to get to the firm-footed place above his crisis on his own in the same way that we all are. 

So friends… knowing that running in the mud and mire of the world will only leave you feeling overwhelmed and in danger of falling, choose to cling to the Rock that is higher than you today and then run with joy the race set before you.”

Heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunities you open up for believers to share the Good News and encourage others through the words and stories the Bible gives us. Lord, please help us to be bold in declaring that the only way out of the world’s muck and mire is clinging to the Rock, because without Jesus there is no hope for rescue, restoration or salvation. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!