The Rock That is Higher Than I

I write these words on a breezy Missouri morning, as I enjoy the view from the peak of Taum Sauk Mountain - the highest point above sea level in my home state. My laptop is at home. My cell phone is turned off, and the only thing distracting me from writing is a sky of billowing clouds and a horizon met by rolling hills. As I reflect on the twelve months that have passed since I last visited this mountain, to say much has changed in my life would be an understatement. In a way, I've climbed many mountains of my own during that time, and my vision of the future was often obscured by a fog of uncertainty. God's love, grace, and provision was stretched out before me, but I rarely took time to enjoy the view.

As I consider Paul's exhortation to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7), I have to believe he was looking ahead to times when faith would be his only strength to keep walking. He knew days would come when it would be hard just to put one foot in front of the other, and that failure would be certain if his continued walk depended on favorable circumstances. And so he resolved not to walk by sight, but entirely "by the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20). David's prayer in Psalm 61:2 was simple: "From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." The visitor to this mountain may be subject to change and sometimes overwhelming circumstances, but the Maker of the mountain remains steadfast, unmoving and unchanging through it all.