198. Feet like hind’s feet
2 Samuel 22:34 He maketh my feet like hind’s feet: and setteth me upon my high places.
This is an incredible promise about what the Lord does for us: He makes us stand and walk in dangerous places; He makes those places safe places. The feet of the deer or the mountain goat are built to hold on to steep and rocky terrain. The Lord does not always change the terrain or the environment for us, but He will give us the strength and wisdom to walk in those places.
We are in the world, and the world is a dangerous place. The temptations of the world are numerous and dangerous to our spiritual life and health. Beyond the temptation to sin there is also the temptation to ignore God and even reject Him for science, education, money, worldly wisdom, and worldly pleasures. It is easy to slip and fall, and falling away from the Lord is a terrible event. We are not equipped to walk safely through the rocky, rugged, mountainous terrain of the world. We may, by experience, gain “street smarts,” but those very smarts leave God out of the picture. Therefore, the Lord has seen fit to make my feet like deer’s feet. He gives me the spiritual equipment, the Word of God and prayer, the Gospel of grace and forgiveness, and the strengthened faith to stand.
God promises to set me on my high places. He puts me there on an elevated plateau where I can safely view my surroundings. From that safe vantage point He gives me the faith to see the spiritual dangers for what they are. I cannot handle a slippery slope, so He gives me feet to stand and walk and a high place to be secure. God sets me upon my high places. God gives me the safe and high place and I make it my own by faith. That high place is Christ Himself, and He is mine.