April 16, 2009

Surrounded by Mountains



Psalm 125
A Song of Ascents.

Those who trust in the LORD
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the LORD surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
On the land allotted to the righteous,
Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
And to those who are upright in their hearts.

As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways,
The LORD shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.

Peace be upon Israel!

Do you realize that you are surrounded? Are you saturating yourself in the promises of scripture that God so generously delivers? If you follow Jesus then you are offered the promise of being surrounded by the Creator of the entire universe. Creator of the very air you breathe, the water you drink, the earth you stand on. Whose very existence and breath has put your life in motion. The Beginning and the End; Alpha and Omega. He surrounds you. I'm not normally reminded of how much I am surrounded by The Lord, much less how this passage reminds us that we are mountains that can NOT be moved, but "abide" forever. I looked up the definition for the word "abide" and it's meaning is, "to endure without yielding", or "to bear patiently". In other words, God responds to our efforts of TRUSTING Him by removing the possibility that we would be moved. The concept seems almost impossible, but this is the very God we claim to believe in. God of the Impossible. I'm reminded of the verse in Psalm 16:8 "I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved."

The secret in all of this is to "remain upright in our hearts". Is it even possible for us to achieve this position without the blood of Jesus covering us and interceding for us? I don't think it is. Once again we are in a position of trusting God with the very thing that is required of us. If only we realized how little is required of us, in terms of what we can accomplish on our own, we'd probably be much quicker to rely on God. Father, help us to trust you and know that your promise is to make us into mountains that will endure. We can't do a single thing to please you without the power of Jesus enabling us. Teach us to give up well so that you can take full control.

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