I Lift Up My Eyes to the Hills

“My Hills”

From the back corner of my family’s farm there is a completely unhindered view of a glorious cascade of hills. I claimed those hills as “my own” years ago; although they only seem like “mine” when they are viewed from the perspective of the Sacramento Valley, and particularly at an approximate distance of 10 miles from the hill base.  I especially favor the little crevice where the hillside crumples inwards to make way for route 128 to pass between the town of Winters and Lake Berryessa, simply because that little crevice adds such beautiful character to the topography of the skyline. It is an orientation point I can spot from across the valley – one I have been known to point out from the 14^th floor of the UC Davis Hospital in Sacramento, as well as during the gentle ascent into the Sacramento International Airport.

I can sketch nearly every detail of that gloriously-hilly skyline from my memory. I even tried to paint it one time on a slab of old walnut wood my grandpa had planed flat. (It was a miserable failure, but gave me time to admire each slope and incline along the hillside).

I find it interesting that some people are drawn to the mountains, others the ocean or the desert. I think the reasoning likely has a lot to do with where we grow up and what we are familiar with—what feels homey to us. For that reason I have a particular love for the valley, because from there you can look across a great expanse, and feel immensely small as you look up at the mountains or hills. There is nothing that invokes feelings within me such as that view.

In the well-known Psalm 121, the psalmist is also very contemplative as they gaze up at the hills:

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2)

For nearly a decade, I spent most evenings of my life going for runs around my family’s farm. I will admit that this has mainly been an excuse to watch the sun set over the hills. But over time it also morphed into a time for me to talk with The Lord as I go.  To tell Him about my day, to ask questions, to simply marvel in the beauty of His creation. There have been many times where I stopped in the middle of my run, and shouted at God, cried out, because I did not understand what He was doing in that particular season of life. I have called Him out; argued with Him. And there have been other moments where I have stopped, bent low at the end of an exhausting run, and held my hands high in the air as my silhouette was framed by the sun setting over the hillside, and all I could proclaim was, “Lord, THY WILL be done!” There is something about being in the presence of those hills that draws me to the Lord and His presence.

Where Does My Help Come From?

I think the psalmist of Psalm 121 could have related with me. He too felt the presence of The LORD as he gazed up at the hills. According to The Matthew Henry Commentary it is speculated that the psalmist may have been referring to Mount Moriah, the hill on which the temple was built, and to the holy hill of Zion where the ark of the covenant and the alters were. These particular hills symbolized the presence of the Lord, and in a moment of need, the psalmist looks to the hills and is reminded of the very presence of God with him – to He whom his help comes from.

There is one thing about hills: You can’t miss them! Sometimes they are a little hazier in the morning fog, and alternatively they can be annoyingly present (particularly when you’re riding a bike). But either way, they lay so prominently in front of you, that you cannot mistake that a hill is there!

This fact is even more true of God. His very presence is right in front of us – even more so within us by the power of The Spirit. He cannot be missed! His help is present!

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from The LORD!

Growing up, Psalm 121 was one that frequently reminded me of my grandparents. It was one that they would recite together whenever a loved one was traveling or leaving home. It was one that they reminded themselves of as they packed their bags and boarded the boat leaving their home in the Netherlands for a new life in the US. It was a precious reminder in times of uncertainty—that even as the future ahead was unknown, that their God, and His rich faithfulness, was NOT uncertain. His help was certain. It was promised again and again in the Scriptures, and He had faithfully proven this true time and again. Like a bold hillside, His goodness and love had always been prominently displayed in front of them.

A New Hill

I’ve been staring at a different hill lately. This year has been one of transition for me. And right now home is in the southern half of the state, in a place I was convinced I’d never live—in our little suburban neck of the woods. But even here the Lord has provided a hill for me. A small sloping peak that reaches from the base of our backyard just up and over into a water reservoir ironically named after my hometown. A small hill where I can sit in our cozy living room with a cup of coffee and stare at the birds bounding off the red rocky boulders. He gave me a new hill to call my own for now.

But this hill also won’t remain mine forever. It is likely that later this year my hilly view will change again. And with that comes a lot of uncertainty. Who knows what hills we will be staring at in the years ahead, nor how frequently the landscape will change? But I am certain of one thing:

Where does my help come from? My help comes from The Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  

Praise be to God that He is forever faithful and unchanging; that He alone is our steadfast rock to build upon; and most importantly that He gave His most beloved son to be crucified upon a different hill (Calvary), and raised again, that we all may be given new life.

Someday I will walk the hills of the New Creation along-side my Jesus and we will reminisce on all the ways He has been my faithful helper and redeemer. Oh how glorious that day will be! Until then, I will lift up my eyes to the hills.

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PSALM 121

 ¹I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip;
    he who watches over you will not slumber.
⁴ Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm;
    he will watch over your life.
⁸ The Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.
   

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God is good!

01/15/2022