I look up to the
mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who
made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over
you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or
sleeps.
—Psalm 121 1:1-4 (NLT)
Walking down the hill
from our new home, I see Cheaha Mountain rising in the distance. I always
remember this verse when I see mountains. As a child I thought that God lived in
the mountains and sent His help to us from there. I didn’t realize that the
King James Version of “from when commeth my help” was actually a question
asking if the mountain supplied my help or if God did. But I was a child, and
seeing was believing.
Now I believe without
seeing. I know God is here for me. The mountains remind me of His presence, and
the help which comes from Him. I know He made heaven, and He made earth. If He can
make the mountains, He can certainly keep me from stumbling. I see a smile on
several faces as you read this. Yes, I stumble, but it isn’t because God isn’t there.
It’s because I take my eyes off my surroundings and allow my mind to think of
other things. Instead of being observant, I’m negligent.
Don’t we do that in the
spiritual sense? Become negligent? Allow things to pull our minds off of Him
and get deterred by our own perceptions instead of what God actually is saying?
And then when we spiritually stumble, we wonder why God didn’t rescue us. His
hand had been extended the whole time, but we didn’t see it because we had our
eyes on the mountain instead of Him.
To come to the
realization that God is never passive—never sleeps—never pulls away—always
cares, we must spend time with Him. He yearns to be known, and to have
fellowship with us. Suddenly my foot hits a rock, but I don’t stumble. Perhaps
God, as I have considered these verses, has kept me from stumbling. Cheaha rises
ahead of me, and reminds me that God is greater than any mountain—any
fear—anything. Where does my help—my strength come from? The one who never takes His eyes off of me. Let
me never take mine off of Him.
© 2018 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2018/09/not-from-mountain.html
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