Remember, Christ is your strong, high rock in whom you can always find refuge.
SHAUNA: Hi, this is is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope.Anyone who knows me knows that I love the mountains. And Joni I know that mountains have a special place in your heart.
JONI: They sure do Shauna. I have a love affair with them – ever since I was a kid. Whether they be the soft, misty hills of the Smoky Mountains or the towering peaks at Rocky Mountain National Park, a mountain has always lifted my spirits. Even now, I can sit at the base of a glacier-scarred peak up in the Sierras, and I can feel dizzy with amazement at what it does to my soul. I wonder if that’s what David felt when he wrote Psalm 61, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Or maybe Psalm 121, “I look to the hills; from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” You know, I read verses like these, and I can see the grand Tetons up in Wyoming. I can see Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. Or the beautiful white mountains of New Hampshire. And always when we drive up the 395 to Mammoth and Lake Tahoe, I’m inspired, just looking out the window at Mount Whitney. Yes, Lord, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
And this is why mountains enjoy such a prominent place in Scripture. The Bible uses mountains to drive home an important point about us, and a big point about God. Because we are weak, lowly, and without power. We’re way down in the valley. But God is strong, high, and lifted up in the mountains. We are but wisps of vapor, fading smoke, here for an instant and gone forever. But God is like Mount Zion; unshakable, solid, secure, and eternal. We are like the flowers of the field and God is like the sun that makes a flower grow. Everything that he is, we are not. So why does God confront us in Scripture with vista after vista of his might and splendor? Well, it’s not so that we will feel crushed, but that we will recognize our total and desperate dependence on him. God intends to be your mountain. Your strong, high rock in whom you can find refuge.
It is these very thoughts about great mountains that inspired me to paint a watercolor and pastel pencil rendering that I called “Mountain Majesty.” When I penciled in the composition, I didn’t have a photo of mountains from which to draw details. I just pulled up some good memories from my mind and I painted the things that were in my heart; things I could easily recall; images that have remained with me all these years – I thought of the Rockies, mainly. And when the painting was completed? I knew I got it right, even if I painted those mountains from memory.
“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” is a well-worn prayer that I often say to the Lord Jesus, the rock of ages. And I think you’ll be inspired in the same way if you would take a moment and see my painting “Mountain Majesty.” Because I’ve posted it today on joniradio.org and I’d love for you to take a look. I also put it on the front cover of my 2025 planner [just got my first copy hot off the press, and it’s beautiful]. So, check out all the details about my new 2025 planner on joniradio.org. And please, if you are feeling a little low today, join me in lifting that ancient, but simple prayer up to Jesus. “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, Lord.” Remember, Christ is your strong, high rock in whom you can always find refuge. I talk about that in my 2025 planner, so visit joniradio.org today. And be inspired by my painting of mountains that I’ve also posted. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name! And the name of our mighty rock is Jesus.
© Joni and Friends