I have a friend, a university professor, who loves to climb mountains.

He flies to his homeland whenever there is a break at school to go climbing. He’s a serious climber and he’s smart; he always has a companion along whom he trusts implicitly.

He and his friend have tackled many mountains together, building a relationship to the point where they can almost read each other’s mind. They know when the other needs some slack in the rope or a taut line. They work together, never insisting on their own ideas because they know that conferring with one another will yield the best result and the safest route. They experience both joy and exhilaration when they’re together.

We have been designed for relationship. We need someone we can trust. The writer of this psalm could joyfully bless God because he and God were companions.

God’s advice may not always have made David happy, but the king trusted his Friend, and it was this trust that characterized their joy-filled relationship.

When we know God as a friend and helper, when we put our trust in the One who knows the way through the passages of life, we, too, will rejoice in the shadow of His wings as we climb life’s challenging peaks together.