HEARTS, STRESS AND HEALTH (6)

“When my HEART is OVERWHELMED; lead me to the ROCK that is higher than I” – Psalm 61:2     

Knowing and trusting GOD as ROCK leads and lifts our Overwhelmed HEARTS from STRESS to Sound HEALTH: “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” (Psa.61:1-2). David often used the metaphor of the rock to describe God. Here, he characterised GOD as the ROCK that rescues the overwhelmed heart from dreadful and stressful situations. The word “overwhelm” means to be buried beneath a huge mass of materials. Life’s challenges could be overwhelming. David talked of his heart being overwhelmed, for which he prayed and yearned to be led to the Rock that is higher than him. God heard his prayers and lifted him from Anxiety and Stress to Rest and Health!

Psalm 61 was written when David was in deep despair, far from home, stuck in darkness, not knowing if light will ever shine upon him again. We know from scriptures that several pressures overwhelmed David’s heart at various seasons in life. He may have composed this Psalm at the time of his flight from Absalom (2 Sam.17:21-29). The agony of being chased out from Jerusalem and the uncertainty of his future was very overwhelming for him. The thought of being debased from kingship to a fugitive must have been overwhelming for David.

David’s heart was overwhelmed by diverse threats and trials. Despite his bravery, he was regularly overwhelmed by the fear of death, to the point that he wished he had wings like a dove to fly away to find rest: “MY HEART is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah” (Psa. 55:4-7).

Thankfully, David not only expressed feelings of Stress, he often testified to God’s Lifting Grace: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my HEART shall not FEAR; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident” (Psa.27:1-3). Victory begins in the Heart!

Many people can relate to the feelings of David. We know what it is like to sit in darkness and wonder if light will ever come. In his sorrow, David called out to God in prayer in whom he had always found shelter, comfort, rest and retreat. So, why would he not, in his darkest moments, cry out to the God, his Rock, hiding place, and Fortress? When our hearts are overwhelmed, all we need do is cry out to God and ask that in our desperation and fear, He would place us on stable ground, shelter, comfort us and lead us to safety.

Believers in Christ are not exempted from being overwhelmed by the pressures and stress of life: “hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed…perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2Cor.4:8-10). Like David, we need to reach out to God, the Rock that is higher than us – By Faith in His Word and Persistence in Prayers. God will prove show Himself strong and faithful, not only as “the ROCK that is higher” than us, but as our Shelter, under whose winds we abide secure; and our “Strong Tower from the enemy” (vv.3-4). Whatever may be overwhelming us or weighing heavy on our hearts, God’s Words are empowered to bring us comfort and peace. When our hearts are stressed and overwhelmed, we can always find Rest and Sound Health in God, our Rock.