Mountains & Sandcastles

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:2)

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that life as we know it can change. Our careers, plans, and hobbies can quickly vanish and give way to the unforeseen. When this happens, we gather up the fragments of what remains and build something new: a new career, new plans, new hobbies. After constructing this new normal, we step back and admire it with the same fondness we had for the old one.

To a certain degree, everyone looks for stability in this way. But we must remember that the new normal we manufacture is merely a sandcastle on the shore of our lives. When another unexpected wave of change comes, we'll remember afresh that “a man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9). It should come as no surprise that our omniscient, eternal God has an agenda that differs from what His finite children may prefer.

During these chaotic times, God and Scripture represent unchanging anchors of truth. Our hope is not found in circumstances or politicians. Our heavenly Father holds tomorrow and all of eternity, and "in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

“Before the mountains were brought forth,” the Maker of the mountains reigned as God alone (Psa. 90:2). Still today, His Word is “settled in heaven” (Psa. 119:89). Circumstances may dizzy us with constant change, but the heart saturated with Scripture “is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” (Psa. 112:7). Don't worry about your sandcastles crumbling; instead, go "mountain climbing" by filling your heart and mind with the unchanging Word of God.