December 13, 2025 Devo

Forty years ago, I had major ear surgery on both ears. My surgeon, Dr. Hough, was one of the world’s leading ear specialists. He was also a deeply devoted Christian. One time when I came to his office, I watched as an older woman came out of his examining room, very emotional and in tears. As I walked in, I said, “Is she okay?” He smiled and said, “She’s better than okay. She’s hearing for the first time in her life!” “Wow,” I said, “It must be incredibly fulfilling to know that you were responsible for something so amazing.” He shook his head. He said, “All I do is put the pieces in place. It’s God that makes them hear!”
What a humble servant of God. But he was also exactly right. It’s not unusual for us to make a big deal out of the vessel God uses, rather than making a big deal out of God Himself. If God weren’t a Healer, if He hadn’t built healing properties into our bodies, if He hadn’t given us minds to think with and hands to do surgery with, none of what my doctor did would be possible. Dr. Hough really was an incredible surgeon. But he was in the hands of an unbelievably amazing God!
That’s what the psalmist is getting at here. Many people see majestic mountains and want to make something divine out of them as though the mountains are holy in and of themselves. Others believed that there are “gods” of those mountains who look down and do stuff for us humans below. But the psalmist pushes back on that false theology. He asks the rhetorical question, “Does my help come from there?” Absolutely not. In fact, my help comes from the God who is so big He MADE those mountains! The mountains are pretty. They are beautiful to behold and breathtaking to climb up and look out from. But they are NOTHING compared to our God. He can hold all of them in the palm of His Hand.
So go ahead and enjoy your scenic views today. Go ahead and be amazed by people who have incredible gifts and can do some pretty cool stuff. But never forget where your help comes from. Your help comes from the God who MADE those scenic views and CREATED those gifted people. And I’m guessing a God who can do that can probably take care of whatever problems you’re facing as well. He’s not just a mountain-making God, He’s a mountain-moving God as well! That’s God’s Word for you today.