Psalm 125

I have been struck with the continuing imagery of mountains in these most recent psalms. A few chapters ago, the psalmist lifted up his eyes to the mountains but concluded that his strength was in the Lord who made those mountains. Now, just a few pages later, the psalmist takes his analogy a step further—not only does strength and help come from the Lord of the mountains, but He is like a mountain, and as we trust in Him, He makes mountains out of us.

“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.” (vs 1-2) This really is quite a paradigm shift—from viewing the mountains as obstacles to believing that God is able to make us unshakable!

How does that happen? I think it all has to do with that word trust in verse 1. When we choose to put our faith in God instead of giving into our fear, life takes on a whole different flavor. When we choose to live under the assumption that “God knows what He’s doing,” all of a sudden, I believe we’re free to actually see what He’s doing—where before, we may have only been blinded by our worry.

Those obstacles that come to us in life are nothing but molehills, even though they look like mountains to us. And God can take us—who feel like molehills—and make mountains out of us as we put our trust in Him. Before we know it, reality begins to look somewhat upside-down from how we knew it previously. Those problems that used to call forth troubling emotions—worry, anxiety, fear—may now fade into the background; better yet, we may begin to perceive God’s blessings in them.

That’s why I love what Eugene Peterson wrote about Psalm 125 in his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: “My feelings are important for many things. They are essential and valuable. They keep me aware of much that is true and real. But they tell me next to nothing about God or my relation to God. My security comes from who God is, not from how I feel…. The image [in Psalm 125] that announces the dependable, unchanging, safe, secure existence of God’s people comes from geology, not psychology.”

So, that mountain you’re facing? Remember that, next to God, it’s nothing. It’s just a molehill.

You’re the mountain!