Monday, May 4, 2009

I Lift Up My Eyes



It has been a typical spring in Colorado. Which means the weather has been anything but spring! It has been cool and rainy the past couple of days-Joel's absolute favorite climate. However, since he has so recently left it has somewhat compounded my sorrow. I must say, however, that one thing I wouldn't trade about living here for anything in the world is the mountains. People that are natives (or wish they were) always go on and on about the wonderful view we have of the Rockies. They are the most majestic thing; true, constant reminders of God's love and faithfulness. I have been doing Beth Moore's "Stepping Up", a study on the Psalm of Ascents.
They are a collection of Psalms that were recited on the steps of the Temple during festival occasions. One in particular (the one assigned to us to memorize) is really meaningful to me.

Psalm 121 begins,

" I lift up my eyes to the hills,
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth."

I can't help but hear that every time I drive home, or look out my back door for that matter. The photos are of my view everyday. Not quite as beautiful as other parts that you can see just driving around Colorado Springs, but not bad for government housing! I know it is really more of a hill, but the verse talks about hills so it works for me. Anyway, as I mentioned above, the weather here has been really disagreeable. I was driving home, missing Joel and looked for the mountains to comfort me. They were gone, covered by a blanket of fog so thick I may as well been living in Kansas. That made me crabby. How was I supposed to look for my help if it was hiding? I stewed over this for a few minutes, grumpy that both my husband and my mountains were removed from my view. Then I realized something. Just like our amazing God, the mountains were still there. I just couldn't see them because of MY position. If I got closer to them, they would appear. I know faith can move a mountain, but I sincerely doubt these guys are going anywhere. They hadn't changed; what was between me and them had.

Now, I can't control the weather (good thing because it would be a boring sunny and 75 for a long, long time!) but I can control what I allow to drift between me and my Lord. If I have trouble in my life, or sadness, that is when I have to get closer to Him so I don't have a wall of clouds in my way. It is so easy for me to want to blame the obstructed view on God. I want to whine, "Why does He seem so far away?". What? Hebrews 13:8 says,

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Definitely not Him.

Verse 5 says, "God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

Yep, gotta be me.

So, now whether I can see my beloved mountains or not, I just have to remember that God is always there, always the same. I just have to decide what I want to do about where I am.

2 comments:

  1. I'm guessing you're already miles ahead memorizing Psalm 121 since it's also a fabulous song?!

    You know I LOVE your posts. They really compliment my daily devotional. Love you!

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  2. I too would have it be 75 (or higher!) and sunny for a long, long time if I could. ;) I don't think I could get sick of it.

    ~ Jen

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