Bible Reading: Psalm 61, Revelation: 17
“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(KJV).
When we are in acquaintance with God and obey his instruction, He takes the responsibility of looking after us. Like a father will bear the responsibility of the welfare of his child, so also God bears the responsibility of ensuring our wellbeing. Irrespective of where we are at any point, God’s presence is there, for He is omnipresent. No father enjoys the cry of anguish of his child being brutalized by the enemy when he has the power to deliver him. In most cases in the scriptures, God delivered Israel to their enemies to discipline them, but turn to accuse them (enemies) of being too harsh on his son Israel. That is the heart of a father. No father will chastise his son whom he loves to death. So when we are in a situation that is overwhelming, we cry unto our God, He will answer us because He is our father. Even when we err and we are being punished, God’s compassion comes to play when we repent and ask for forgiveness.
The Psalmist in our scripture of today requested to be led to the rock higher than him. That rock is Jesus Christ. He is the eternal Rock of Ages. He has the ability to shelter us from the storms of life. He is our strong tower from the enemy. Our God can hide us where the enemy can never find us. There is a secret place in His sanctuary where no power can dare, that is where he hides us for safety (Psalm 27:5). They led Jesus to a place to cast him down, but he walked passed in their midst and went away. The scripture says: “And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow (edge) of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way” – Luke 4:29-30(KJV). This is the power of God to hide his own from the evil and wickedness of man. The bible says that, “he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” – (Psalm 91:1). Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty is to be under the rock higher than you. Jesus is that rock and no force can reach you when you are under his protection. So David knew exactly what he was asking for, he understands that there is a place called the shadow of the Almighty. It is our place of divine shelter from the storms of life. It means dwelling in God’s secret place. It is a place of divine fortification. The story was told of Archbishop Idahosa of blessed memory who was going back to Benin from Agbor after a crusade and saw some evil men by the road side. The Spirit told him that the men were waiting for him but because he was not in his car they did not recognize him. The man of God asked the driver to turn back, he came down from the car and announced his identity and decree their demise, entered the car and left. They had guns and saw who they were waiting for but were incapacitated by the power of the Almighty from executing their intention. That is the secret place of the Most High. “He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so their hands cannot perform their enterprise” – Job 5:12(KJV).
My dear reader, God’s protection is not made for some special persons but for all who believe and trust in him. To secure divine care and protection you must be of his flock. To be of his flock means you must be born again (Read John 3: 3,5,16 & 17).
Prayer: Father, may you continue to be my rock at all times in Jesus name.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo