God Is On The Mountain
By Barbara Chadwick

The mountains where we live are beautiful. 
The trees, the rock formations, the lakes and streams,
the animals and the birds show the majesty of God’s creation.
The air is cool and refreshing.
It is quiet and peaceful.
Most of the time.

But when there’s 5 feet of snow on the ground and you want to go to church or you need some food from the store it quits looking beautiful and just seems hard.  Or when the wind blows 90 miles an hour and the house shakes it doesn’t feel peaceful and quiet it feels uneasy and fitful. Or when a bear is on your porch you don’t see the majesty of the creation you just feel scared.

Or when your husband is having a heart attack and you need to get him to the hospital it seems like a long way to town. On that day I wasn’t admiring the mountains, the trees or the rocks. I was praying as I drove. The Lord rode with us all the way.

Did you ever hear the song, God On The Mountain by Tracy Dartt? It’s a simple song but has a powerful message:
Verse 1
Life is easy when you’re up on the mountain and you’ve got peace of mind like you’ve never known. But then things change and you’re down in the valley, don’t lose faith, child, you are never alone.
Chorus
For 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.
Verse 2
We talk of faith when we’re up on the mountain, but the talk comes easy when life’s at its best;    
 it's down in the valley of trials and temptation, that’s when faith is really put to the test.

Isaiah 65:24 - It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Part of a Song
by Barbara Chadwick

Photo from http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/wp-content/uploads/songbird-1.jpg

As we were driving to town one day I heard a few notes of a bird’s song. It was so pretty I wished we could have stopped to hear the rest.

Now isn’t it amazing that driving along the country highway 74E at 55 miles per hour with all our windows and vents closed we could hear part of that bird’s song?

Isn’t it that way in life too? We go along singing our song, blessing others and being blessed in return but something happens. The evil one whispers in our ears, “Do you really think things are that rosy?” and we begin to get negative about things. We begin to close off all our receptors to the Holy Spirit and the joy He brings to our hearts. When we hear negative comments we nod our heads in agreement. When we hear criticism of anyone we concur. When someone says something positive we say, “Yes, but there’s this ugly thing …”

There is a woman in our church. At first I thought, “What a pretty lady” because she is very attractive and outgoing. But as I got to know her I began to realize I didn’t even want to be around her because she was so negative and critical. What happened to her song?

Then there is another woman – not nearly as pretty but just as outgoing. I look forward to seeing her every Sunday. She always has a smile and something positive and happy to say. I love her song.

You know in the grocery store how you overhear someone? When it’s a grumble it makes you feel bad that you heard that part of their song but when you hear someone laugh it’s like a tinkling of a bell and you involuntarily smile. You feel blessed that you overheard part of their song.

From Exodus to Revelation the scriptures instruct us to sing a new song. How happy our hearts are when we can sing to the Lord. Our songs (our words and language) need to encourage and lift.

Ephesians 5:1 instructs us to, Be imitators of God…as dearly beloved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Then in verse 19 we’re told to Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So you’re not going to go about your days as if you’re in a musical singing every word. But live your days as a fragrant offering to the Lord, loving and encouraging others and always giving thanks to God for everything so that if someone hears even a part of your song they will be lifted up.