It’s a real bummer to be very competitive and very afraid of heights—especially when you’re a kid and your older sister loves heights and thrill.

The competitive side of me would say, “If someone else can do it, there’s no reason why I can’t too.” The scared of heights side of me would argue, “Yes, but you are about to fall and die.” (I know, fear is irrational. Most people don’t die from climbing to the top of the swing set and jumping down.)

Sometimes the competitive side won, and I would will myself to climb in spite of my fears. And sometimes the scared of heights side won, and I would say I didn’t really want to climb that day. (Actually, the scared of heights side always won because even if I climbed up, I suffered escalating stages of terror before I made it back down to the ground!)

But there’s one place—a very high place—that no one climbs by themselves. Not even people who aren’t afraid of heights.

It’s so high that only God can lead us there.

“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 61:2

You can see why a person would want to be on top of that high rock!

Sometimes my heart gets overwhelmed. And when it does, I need the benefits of the high rock:

• New perspective—below it is overwhelming and confusing; above there is a clear view.
• Safety—below it seems the forces that overwhelm will crush us; above the forces are harmless.
• Fellowship with God—below we feel far from God—at “the end of the earth”; above we sense the security He provides—“For thou has been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy” (verse 3).

With these benefits available, why do we hesitate to scale the rock? Perhaps for the same reasons I hate to climb high:

• Fear—it’s out of our comfort zone. Sometimes we prefer the familiarity of being overwhelmed to the discomfort of rock climbing.
• Unbelief—we intuitively know we can’t make it to the top (which is true), and we forget that God can and will lead us there.

But if you’re willing to face your fears and discard your unbelief, the path to the top is quit simple. In fact, it’s just a simple request away:

“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

In those ten short words, we acknowledge inability, faith, desire, and trust. And God honors that prayer.

You can’t climb that high. But do you want to go anyway?

Just ask!