Where David Ran

Psalm 61

 

61 Hear my cry, O God,
     listen to my prayer;
² 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,
³ for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.

⁴ Let me dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!  

Selah
⁵ For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

⁶  Prolong the life of the king;
    may his years endure to all generations!
⁷ May he be enthroned forever before God;
    appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

⁸ So will I ever sing praises to your name,
    as I perform my vows day after day.

During my college years, I got burned out. I was tired of schoolwork, tired of ministry, tired of the "Biola Bubble." I needed to get away; I wanted to radically reconnect with God. So one day, I packed a case of water, a portable hammock, my guitar and a Bible and drove up to Joshua Tree for a weekend of camping. No food, no one else around me, nothing to distract me from God. 

When I made it up there, one of the things I noticed about the park was that, in the middle of this desolate flat land, there were huge (at least 6 stories high, many higher than that) sandstone rock formations in clusters around the landscape. All the roads passed by these rocks and every major man-made structure had the rock's shadows cast over them. These places were natural safety. People naturally congregated around them. 

I made my way to one cluster of rocks (mine was one of small ones, about six stories high), and set up camp. It was quite hot throughout the day and incredibly cold at night, but in the different extremes, everyone eventually migrated back to the rocks. 

I truly believe God has set these instinctual tendencies within us as parallels between our physical life and spiritual reality. Just as people gravitate toward tall or massive structures, we also gravitate toward anything stronger or more resilient than ourselves for protection. 

"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."

David yearns for this safety in God, both in his current need and his acknowledgement of past protection. 

When you need protection or safety, where do you go? Maybe it's an ATM. Maybe it's Facebook. Maybe it's a friend, a parent, a sibling, a coworker, a pastor. Maybe it's God Himself, or maybe it's the furthest place from God you can think of. Where we go for protection says a lot about what we think we need protection, doesn't it?

David ran to God for protection. If you're not going to God for protection, maybe it's time to ask yourself whether or not you trust Him with your life.

In conclusion, let me offer a prayer of surrender for you to use in your walk with God:

Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for your patience and love toward me. I'm scared of a lot of things, and some of them I don't want to bring before you for various reasons. However, I ask you to make my life your own. I want to trust you more. I want your Spirit to guide me. I don't want to be afraid of a relationship with you. I want to walk in your light, day to day, week to week, moment to moment; not to gain any particular thing, but to glorify you. Help me seek you for help, for safety, and for protection.