Oh how good and pleasant it is when we live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)
I read this verse along with chapter 18 before hiking with some girlfriends this morning and then realized that Psalm 133 was part of the Psalms of Ascent. So fitting for this morning to remember this and go back to my study notes and journal entries written while studying the Psalms of Ascent. My eyes and heart were drawn to Psalm 125…in particular as I read from my Bible before joining the girls on the hike…”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.” I thought about God’s protection and knew this was powerful and thought about His love as I hiked up the mountain and saw the great number of other mountain ranges which were hidden in the distance.
Upon getting home from this wonderful morning hiking with my girlfriends I went back and studied further to find that the time I was initially studying these scriptures I was in Oregon on vacation with my family and spending time on Cannon Beach in front of haystack rock…which to me is no rock..but more like a mountain near the shore line. (My current FB profile pic is in front of this rock). During the time that we were there the tide was the farthest out that it is apparently all year and there were government workers with red coats patrolling and guarding the rock…while they allowed onlookers to walk around the base of the rock and observe the wildlife in the tide pools; they also made sure to educate the onlookers of which areas were protected and prohibited. It was really beautiful to walk around to see the starfish and various other living creatures butted up against the rock. I remember feeling God whisper to me that just as these people in redcoats are guarding, protecting and caring for this Rock….He is my Rock and I can be 100% sure, 100% confident and 100% secure with all of my trust being in the Lord…I can be like Mount Zion in Psalm 125:1 and sit unmoved forever! I so needed to hear that this past summer and you know I so needed to be reminded of God's truth right this very moment!
God is so good and speaks to my heart in so many different ways…ways that I cannot always express. I know that I am not ever arriving at some higher place of greater destination…but just like hiking that mountain today…each step…each moment in my life is an opportunity to go higher with Him…my best friend…my Savior…my Rock!
I am so thankful for girlfriends who share in this journey of mine; for they too are embracing and finding victory and freedom in their own journey and share a love for my BFF. And oh how good it is when God brings the dew from one mountain and allows it to fall on another mountain…thus bringing the two together in a remarkable…sort of mysterious way…there; oh there is where His blessings reside. (Psalm 133)
Thank you God for teaching me continually that I need just what Rick Warren states on page 140; courage and humility in order to be authentic and real with those around me, so that I may grow spiritually and remain emotionally healthy.
Thank you Lord, for blessing me with the relationships with those who know both You and me deeply. Thank you that through the years I have come to understand a bit more of what fellowship means to You and that I am continually growing in this area of my life.
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