Today's Lectionary TextPsalm 46:10-11“Be still, and know that I am God!I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.  Today's Devotional
One of the best trips I have taken was to visit two national parks with my dad the summer before I went to college. I have never experienced more breathtaking mountains. While I was there, I hiked long, narrow roads by bodies of water and down into warm, comforting valleys.
When you think of mountains, what comes to mind? Do mountains shift? Do mountains move? Are mountains to be conquered? Are they to be admired or shaken? Recently, I have been thinking about mountains in the light of powerlessness. God is showing me that I construct mountains as a solo trekker. My tendency is to tackle my fallen nature single-handedly and, in doing so, I build a mountain. I operate as a solo-heroic hiker exhausting myself conquering that mountain. I increase my motives and suppress the Lord. I build these mountains every day in trying to be a husband, a father, a friend or an employee. In my faith journey, I think I have to do all of these “things” to get it right; that I have to strive. In my self-satisfying willfulness, I build what then subsequently needs to be moved or shifted. I forget dawning is the mountain of the Lord. In thinking back on my trip with my dad, before we even entered the mountain, we were boated across a calm, cool and crisp lake. The imagery has stayed with me as I think about how we are called to sit beside the still water of His mountain. In Psalm 46:10, He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Through stillness, we cease constructing our own mountains and instead take full advantage of the mountain made available to us. When our striving stops, we sit still, we are able to experience the dawning of the mountain of the Lord. Spiritual disciplines such as reading scripture, praying and worship still the waters that guide us to the mountain of the Lord. God is everything, but I am so busy constructing my own mountains that I miss out on what God is doing! Mountains are a proclamation of God’s goodness and creation. God is the mountain of overwhelming grace and mercy. God’s glory is the actual mountain and it is already here, it is available for us to view, encounter, enjoy, and rest in His peace and power. We will build mountains in our life but remember the mountain of God is dawning. That is the most powerful mountain! In comparison, your mountains may actually be more like bumps along the path trembling before God, so no matter where you are in life, God has called you His children. Think about how you might endeavor to be as clear and crisp as still water by the mountain of our Heavenly Father. God’s mountain is sufficient so sit at his feet and enjoy the view looking up at His magnificence. Prayer for ReflectionLord, you have been our help generation after generation. Before the mountains were born, before you birthed the earth and the inhabited world – from forever in the past to forever in the future, you are God. Teach us to do what pleases you, because you are our God. Guide us by your good spirit into a good land.
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