Psalm 61: Lead Me To The Rock

When you look at a rock, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

- Bulky? Smooth? Shiny? Massive?

The dictionary says: a large mass of stone forming a hill, cliff, promontory, or the like

Descriptions of a rock can go from one extreme to the next because there are so many various types of them.
But What a Rock (the Rock) represents is something that is solid, stable, permanent, unchanging, protective, strong, and sheltering.

The past couple weeks our church as been doing a study called "Our Rock in Troubled Times" and how we need to press into and lean on God our Rock! HE is always Solid, Stable, Permanent, Unchanging, Protective, Strong, and Sheltering!! This is what God will always be!

Psalm 61 says...

"Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy."

"the Rock" in the Old Testament can mean a massive boulder or cliff/cleft in a mountain. This term is used a lot in the OT to describe who God is and the strength found in Him.

These quotes from Sunday's message really spoke to my heart and gave me such encouragment:

"Here's the hope for every weary traveler whose feet are tired of the slippery instability of mud of a fallen world. Your weariness is a signpost. It's meant to cause you to cry out for help. It's meant to cause you to quit looking for your stability and begin to cry out for it vertically. It's meant to put an end to your belief that situations, people, locations, possessions, positions, or answers will satisfy the longing of your heart. You weariness is meant to drive you to God. He's the Rock for which you're longing. He's the one who alone is able to give to you the sense that all is well. And as you abandon your hope in the mirage rocks of this fallen world, and begin to hunger for the True Rock, he'll reach out and place you on solid ground." Paul Tripp

&

"There is a Rock to be found. There is an inner rest to be experienced that's deeper than conceptual understanding, human love, personal success, and the accumulation of possessions. There is a rock that will give you rest even when all of those things have been taken away. That rock is Christ and you were hardwired to find what you are seeking in Him. In His grace, He won't play hide and seek with you. In your weakness and weariness, cry out to Him, cry out to Him. He will find you and He will be your Rock." Paul Tripp

This past month has been really hard and I have been having to learn to lean on God through this time in my life. But Phil said something yesterday that struck me, "These troubled times are equipping us to help/serve others that are going through similar situations."
I pray when that time comes that God will give me the words to encourage those individuals.

I leave you with a song from the new "Come Weary Saints" cd...

There is a Rock thats weathered every storm
Standing firm through the ages
A shelter for the battered, bruised, and worn
You're our help and our Savior
You have always been faithful
You will always be good
You'll never let me go
I'll never be alone
You have always been faithful