Graduation and a Hike on the Mountain

As some of you know, on the first weekend in May we drove to Chattanooga for our son’s graduation. While we were there, we went on a family hike on one of the trails on Lookout Mountain. It had rained a fair amount over the past couple of days and the afternoon we were there was very cloudy. The result was that the dirt and stone paths were very slippery.

This particular trail followed a small part of the western edge of Lookout Mountain. This section of the mountain features sheer drop offs of hundreds of feet, which the signs warned us of as we started on the trail.

As we started down the trail, it didn’t take long and I started slipping on the wet rocks on the path. It seemed no matter how carefully I walked or where I placed my feet, every few yards, my feet would slip. Happily, we were not at all close to the edge at those places, but nonetheless my slipping feet did give me pause as to what might happen if this happened close to the edge.

As you can safely deduce, I did not go sliding down the mountain and over the edge. My slipping did prompt me to remember to check the tread on my shoes the next time we hike. Even more than that, my slipping feet and the beautiful surroundings made me reflect on Psalm 121. The Psalmist writes:

I lift up my eyes to the hills__ where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip__ he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you__ the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

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 forevermore.

I firmly believe that on that slippery trail, God was watching over me and protecting us all. The God who so powerfully made this beautiful world in which we live is also powerfully watching over us so that our feet will not slip. God is indeed watching over us in all of our coming and going now and forevermore.

I thought of this in terms of our children as well. As our son graduated, I thought of his future and the futures of all those graduating from various schools this year. What will the future hold for them? I thought of all the former students who will be entering the workforce and taking their place as adults. Will they find fulfillment and success? I thought of many young children growing up in other parts of the world where the future is often bleak. And I remembered that God will not let the feet of His children slip.

God is watching over us in the bigger picture as well. That is not to say nothing bad will ever happen to us. The Scriptures make it very clear that sometimes (and for some families it seems many times) things do happen to us that we don’t like at all. However in the big picture the God who created the hills and mountains is also the God who will ultimately watch over us and our children even when we slip in this earthly life and especially when we fall in death.

How comforting to know that no matter what happens to us, no matter how old or young we are, God is holding us. Finally I thought of the end of Jude in the New Testament where the writer sums up in such a powerful way his confidence in God’s ability to keep him from falling. He writes: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

Pastor Jerry

May 2007