God On the Mountain
The first time I heard the song “God on the Mountain” was on a Gaither album, sung by Lynda Randle. The words spoke to me in a time when I truly needed the message. Let me give you a little background. My sister and I cared for our mother during her final years of life. She had Alzheimer’s, a heart condition, and likely a few other issues. But she would become extremely agitated (which exacerbated her heart condition) and fearful. The thing we found that calmed her down better than anything else was listening to Gospel music—thus, we accumulated a HUGE stack of Gaither CDs! (By the way, thank you, Bill and Gloria!)
The lyrics of this song reminded me that in this life you will have good times (mountaintop experiences)—times when mom was her old self and we could have good times together; and you will also have “valley” experiences—times when mom thought we were trying to poison her, so she wouldn’t eat or take her medicine.
That’s just the way life is. If you read the lives of the Old Testament kings, judges and prophets, you will see this played out again and again and again: Times of blessing followed by a challenge; a difficult time followed by an unexpected blessing.
While for most of us the current coronavirus situation will end up being more of an inconvenience than a valley experience, it will still disrupt our lives for some time. It could be that some will lose a business, lose a job, or suffer some other long-lasting consequence. There are others who have chosen to take advantage by stockpiling and price gouging.
What brings me comfort is knowing that whatever comes my way, the God in whom I trust has not changed. He knows what is happening; He knows what will happen; and “in the fulness of time” He will act to finally defeat the evil in this world—including pandemics such as the one we are currently dealing with, or ones that may affect us in the future.
Meantime, be assured that
the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley
When things go wrong, He’ll make them right
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day, is still God in the night.[1]
[1] Tracy Dartt, “God on the Mountain,” ©Manna Music, Inc., Gaviota Music Inc.
