For Every Mountain
Taste and see how good the Lord is!
The one who takes refuge in him is truly happy! (Psalm 34: 8)
When my husband and I were planning our fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration, I knew there was one song I wanted sung: “For Every Mountain” by Kurt Carr. That song fit the occasion perfectly. The opening words express how much the writer has to be grateful for and how those blessings continue day by day or, in our case, year by year. After a litany of blessings and thanksgiving, the chorus sings praise:
For every trial you’ve seen me through
For every blessing.
I am always moved by this song because during our fifty years of marriage, there have been many mountains. If you include the churches my husband has served as pastor and the mountains and trials the members have faced, you might have a sense of what we have experienced together. But God is so good, as we have tasted and seen.
Sometimes couples ask me to participate and offer words of advice during their premarital counseling. I always tell the bride not to expect a fifty-fifty arrangement in which she puts a 50 percent effort into making the marriage a success and her groom also puts in 50 percent. Somehow there never seems to be an equal effort. I advise her to be prepared to give a 90 percent effort and to expect no more than a 10 percent effort from her husband. I let her know that if she gives 90 percent and by chance her husband is prepared to give his 50 percent, they will have 140 percent working toward their success. (And just imagine, if he put in a 90 percent effort, they would have 180 percent working toward their success!) Then, no matter what mountains they experience, together with God they will be able to climb over.
How can we taste and see that the Lord is good if we never face trials? How can we praise God for bringing us over mountains that were not there? We never know what trial each new day has in store for us, but we know that God is with us and will see us through. That is why we sing praises and shout, “Hallelujah!”
What do you have to shout about?
Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good?
Prayer: Lord, I am so thankful for the many blessings you have granted me and for the gift of a long marriage. Help others to be blessed in the same way. Amen.
Kimbrough, Marjorie L. (2016-12-20). African American History Month Daily Devotions 2017