Last week, my wife and I went to Colorado. I was invited to officiate a wedding for a family member, and it was no sacrifice to say, “Yes!”

While we were there, we took some time to explore the mountains – the magnificent views above 12,000 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park; the quiet splender of the gondola ride up Vail Mountain; the breathtaking scenery hiking up a mountain stream to view dozens of waterfalls.

Our time in Colorado was spiritually moving and powerful for me. There’s just something about mountains, isn’t there? The sheer size, the beauty – they draw our thoughts upward and invite us into God’s presence. They fill us with awe and wonder and have a way of lifting our gaze above our current circumstances. It’s been true since the beginning of time.

Of course, mountains play a role in the biblical narrative, appearing over 500 times, hosting crucial events in the history of the people of God. During our time in Colorado, a familiar psalm with a ‘mountain theme’ kept running through my head. You probably know it…

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

It’s significant that this psalm is part of a larger collection often referred to as the “Psalms of Ascents” - Psalms 120-134. These 15 psalms originally comprised the songbook for Hebrew pilgrims as they made their way up Mt. Zion, to Jerusalem, to meet with God. 

Writer Eugene Peterson says, “Jerusalem was the highest city in Palestine, and so all who travelled there spent much of their time ascending. But the ascent was not only literal. It was also a metaphor: the trip to Jerusalem acted out a life lived upward toward God.” (p.12, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction)

Paul described this kind of “upward living” in Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Isaiah says it like this, “Come, let’s climb God’s mountain, go to the House of the God of Jacob. He’ll show us the way he works so we can live the way we’re made.” (Isaiah 2:3, The Message). I love that!

Sometimes my life with God can become aimless and without direction, and in my complacency, my walk with him can feel like I’m more a tourist than a pilgrim – walking but not really going anywhere. 

God is encouraging and inviting each of us to a higher place, a deeper journey with him. And one of the resources he has given us are these 15 psalms – the Psalms of Ascents. Over the next month or so, I will be reading these psalms daily, spending time praying and meditating on them, opening myself to how God is encouraging me to “a life lived upward” with him. 

Would love for you to join me in this journey up the mountain!

(By the way – Eugene Peterson has written a wonderful book on these psalms called “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.”)