God on the Mountain

A winding road leads to the top of Pike’s Peak, a summit towering 14,110 feet above sea level! My ‘climb’ involved a couple of hours driving and still I felt a sense of accomplishment! What must those who walk to the top feel? When I stood looking down at the plains to the east and turned to gaze at the Rocky Mountain peaks to the west, it felt like I was literally ‘on top of the world.’  I felt a natural ‘high,’ no pun intended!

Walking with Christ involves climbing mountains.  Peaks rise menacingly, filling the horizon; sometimes inviting us to adventure, other times almost daring us to start to climb.  People who are climbing those mountains wonder:

·         Will I ever complete this degree?

·         Can I keep going in this marriage?

·         Will this teenager I’m parenting ever grow out of his dysfunctional behavior?

·         Will I gain victory over that habit that seems to overpower me from time to time?  

·         Will I get better or should it be the end, will I face death with hope and faith?

Here’s what I know:  when the Lord leads us to a mountain, there are new perspectives to be gained, new understanding of ourselves, of our world, and of His grace. Do we always know what His purpose is? No, we don’t and so we push forward, singing, “Oh, for grace to trust Him more.”

God summoned Moses to the mountain. It was not see the sights or take a hike! There was a revelation waiting. "Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights." (Exodus 24:15-18, NLT) There, in God’s Presence, Moses received the Law, the plan for the Tabernacle which was the center of Israel’s worship, revelations great and wonderful. He was a changed man after his ascent to the top of Mt. Sinai.

John, too, found a whole new point of view on a mountain! "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal." (Revelation 21:10-11, NIV) From the height of his visionary mountain, John wrote of the disciple’s great hope, the promise of God’s victory over sin and suffering in a book that has encouraged and intrigued Christians for two millennia- The Revelation of Jesus Christ!

In the classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, an allegory about our journey to the Celestial City, John Bunyan wrote of the Delectable Mountains that afford the pilgrims, Christian and Hopeful, a view of their final destination. His insight is clear and instructs us well. From the heights of the mountains we have to climb along the way, we catch glimpses of God’s glory that draw us along.

Are you living in the shadows of the valley right now?
Does some peak stand ahead of you, daring you to scale its heights?
Or are you in the climb, feeling exhausted; seeing only more difficulty as you look ahead?

Keep climbing!  God gives strength to those who call on Him. Walk it out, faithful just for today, if that’s all you can do. There will be revelation waiting at the summit!  Here’s  a word from the Word. It’s a promise for those climbing life’s mountains.

"A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-6, NIV)