I couldn’t believe that I was sitting on a grassy terrace overlooking Machu Picchu in Peru. I was finally cooling off from the hike up the mountainside and enjoying the cool breeze rolling in with the storm clouds. My friend Jessica and I decided to come and sit, to take a moment to soak in the views before exploring further. It seemed surreal sitting on the stony ledge looking out over the ancient walls. But the nearby llama almost ate my hair, and that brought me back to reality. As I surveyed the vastness around me, I kept thinking about God’s response to Job in the Bible. He “answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ‘Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Job 38:1,4. Even the people who built the massive stone wall thousands of years ago were not there when God formed the earth.
Reading the beginning of Genesis takes me back to that mountain top experience in Peru. That moment when time stops. Usually in those moments, the petty things of life disappear, but the weightier matters hang in the air. It’s almost like an offering to God, where the air is thinner, and you are closer to your Creator. I realize again how small and insignificant I am. God was the one who created the firmament. He drew up the waters and created land. As in the telling of creation, God is in the details of our lives. Do I trust my life, my desires to the God who created the world? And then I climb down the mountain; I am back to reality and everyday life. I sometimes wish that I could stay on the mountaintop in all the seasons of life. Growing up I loved listening to my dad’s records, and the song from Amy Grant, “Mountain Top,” always comes to mind when I am yearning for the peace of a mountaintop.
The words “But I’ve got to come down from that mountain top, To the people in the valley below, Or they’ll never know that they can go, To the mountain of the Lord” are a great reminder of why we live in the valley. God sustains us in both the valleys and mountains of life. As cliche as that sounds, it has so much truth to it. I just want to encourage you, sister, if you are struggling in the desolate places of grief or fretting over making a decision that could alter the course of your life, God is there. God created all and cares for you in your struggle. And when you feel like you can’t possibly take the next breath because your heart hurts, God is there. When you accomplish your dreams or see your hard labors come to fruition, God is there, nodding his affirmation in your trusting Him and praying along the way.
So as you tackle the daily to-do list, wade through the emotions brought on by life, or praise God in the trials, you can hold onto the knowledge that God is there. Out of the firmament, the whirlwind, and his daily Word, we can trust our awesome Creator to be there for us.
“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1:17
The Author: Autumn Rokey lives in Arizona with her husband and has been an ER nurse for 8 years. When she is not at work, she loves to hike or explore new places. She has a new found love of writing and wants to use it to encourage other women in their daily walk with God.
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