“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you. – Isaiah 54:10 (NLT)
From my balcony near downtown Atlanta, I can look east and see Stone Mountain. Even from a distance of some seventeen miles, the mountain still looms impactful. Though the use of this monolith as a memorial to the Confederacy is hotly contested, its natural beauty is undisputed. It stands 1,683 feet above sea level at its summit, and 825 feet above the surrounding area. The base of the mountain spans a circumference of more than five miles. Stone Mountain is the largest single piece of exposed granite in the world.
It would be hard to imagine the eastern region of metro-Atlanta without the enduring landmark of Stone Mountain. Notwithstanding the difference in scale, it would be like trying to imagine Colorado without the Rocky Mountains or Rome without the seven hills. Not many other things speak to our sense of consistency and stability like the hills and mountains that surround us.
Still, according to Isaiah, God’s love for us is even more solid, more consistent, more dependable and more enduring than any majestic mountain. When that which seems unmovable is removed, and when the earthly foundations of our stability prove to be insecure, the love of God still holds us steady.
Thank God for majestic mountains. They inspire me to believe beyond the heights of this marvelous creation and trust the promises of God’s unfailing love.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for a love that transcends the heights and goes deeper than the debts of all that we know. Amen.
