I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. ( Psalm 121 : 1&2)

I once thought that this psalm meant that God lived in the mountains somehow, and that being near those, a person would be nearer to God. But experiencing the very real need for the assurance of God in my life led me to wonder at this psalm. One day as I looked from the deck of the house at Possum Kingdom lake I thought that I knew what the psalmist meant, for in looking up, you see above the hills, the sky, and you cannot help remembering our creator God and His infinite love. The psalmist continues: He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber. . . The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forever more. (Psalm 121:3&7-8)

The mountains, a part of His creation, are simply meant t draw our attention upward to our Maker. Ruth Bell Graham, the Presbyterian wife of Billy Graham, wrote about this:

I will lift up mine eyes

to the hills;

and when I fly

I will lift my eyes

instead to the sky;

it is the same,

sure,

certain thing–

the quiet lifting up,

remembering.. .

This is my strength. (from “I will lift up mine eyes”

by Ruth Bell Graham)

That there could be such peace in a world that rages across the globe, a peace that is expressed in a psalm thousands of years old, a peace that carries assurance and calm that transcends time and place, is proof enough of the presence of God; but in the scriptures we find even more in the person and spirit of Christ:May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you. (2 Thessalonians 2:16). When Billy Graham was asked for his spiritual inspiration, he answered, “My spiritual inspiration is in my wife Ruth.”

Love in Him,

Prue