Sunday, August 29, 2010

"Mountains I can't climb"




"God, my God, I cry out

Your beloved needs You now

God, be near, calm my fear

And take my doubt


Your kindness is what pulls me up

Your love is all that draws me in


I will lift my eyes to the Maker

Of the mountains I can't climb

I will lift my eyes to the Calmer

Of the oceans raging wild

I will lift my eyes to the Healer

Of the hurt I hold inside

I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You


God, my God, let Mercy sing

Her melody over me

God, right here all I bring

Is all of me


'Cause You are and You were and You will be forever

The Lover I need to save me

'Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God

So hold me now

(I will lift my eyes. by Bebo Norman)



Recently the visual image of four mountains were looming around me. Each mountain representing something in my life that needs to be taken care of but seems insurmountable... something that without God, I can't do on my own.


Around that time of struggle, I sent out a note to some friends and prayer warriors in my life to be praying for these mountains to be conquered... for we are told in the Bible that if we have faith of a mustard seed we can move mountains. The past couple of weeks has been amazing as some ground has been conquered....


Yesterday I was reminded that sometime in mountain climbing you slip and fall. After you fall, you have two choices.... 1. to stay down at the bottom in the pile of rubble and lament or 2. to get up, secure your harness, and start climbing again. Now I am speaking theoretically here, not physically. I didn't actually go mountain climbing so I am not all busted up... but in reality, I was humbled by a couple of slip- ups as I was trying to overcome these mountains in my own strength. I am realizing that when I get my eyes off of God, I am more prone to slip.


Thankfully that even when I slip and fall, the hands of a loving, merciful God are waiting to catch me and help me back to my feet. Yes, God allows the scrapes and cuts to remind me of my disobedience but He is waiting with open arms to take care of those wounds when I run back to Him with a repentant heart.


So the lesson in all of this is... God allows those trials in our lives to make us trust Him more. I need to lift my eyes to the Maker of those mountains I can't climb and trust that if He wants me to get over them it will be by His strength not mine!