The Higher Rock
Read Psalm 61
The psalmist cried, "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
-Psalm 61:2 (NIV)
ROCK formations have always fascinated me. As a child I gazed in awe at a formation known as Pioneer Rocks, where massive boulders lay heaped along the highway as though cast aside by the hand of a passing giant untold eons ago.
At home, high on the slopes of our cow pasture, a large stone outcrop made a great spot to sit. With a gnarled apple tree spreading its branches protectively overhead and a tall sycamore standing guard below, that rock provided me with a quiet retreat for daydreaming.
Thinking now of my childhood musings, I believe that I understand the psalmist. Longing for a place to be safe, he used the image of a rock - one high enough to shelter him during a storm or to conceal him as he hid from an enemy.
When my parents died, I sought my childhood retreat. There I experienced my grief and reaffirmed my belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Later, when my doctor told me I had cancer, I felt shock but not despair, for once again I found refuge in the Rock "that is higher than I." I am thankful that whatever my needs, I can cling to God, my Rock, knowing that God will always offer me refuge.
Alberta Y. Haught (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
Dear God, thank you for always being with us. We praise you for your everlasting love. Help us to accept your invitation to draw upon that love and find strength for our journey. Amen.
God is our sure and near refuge.
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Those who need a place of retreat
