Have you ever had a “mountain top moment?” Life is full of highs and lows, but can you look back in your life and name the high moments? Maybe it was the day you got accepted into that one school, passed that one class. Maybe it was your wedding day or the arrival of a special family member, or a holiday filled with great family memories. Maybe it was the day you had an encouraging conversation with someone who wanted to know Jesus. Maybe it was the first time you experienced God’s presence for yourself…
Have you ever had a moment you have experienced God in
a supernatural way - moments you know without a shadow of doubt that there is a
God who loves you? Where somewhere deep in your soul you feel fully known and
fully loved?
I had my own mountain top experience recently. Literally.
I found a mountain side trail during a personal retreat. As I started hiking the trail, I felt the wind beckoning me to “come and see” what was at the top. Once I got to the top, I sat down to watch the sun sink into the surrounding hillside, behind the trees, casting a magnificent view over the valley. It was breathtaking. And there seemed to be this precious peace, enforcing you to whisper to protect the moment. It seemed like it was an invitation to come and rest. Enjoy the view, breathe, and practically feel the stress melt away…
I remembered a song my sister suggested so I put it on to listen to the words.
You
will never leave
Your
love sustaining me
Before I even knew
What love was
You've brought me here to rest
And given me space to breathe
So I'll stay still until
It sinks in
And I will lean back in the loving arms
Of a beautiful Father
Breathe deep and know that He is good
He's a love like no other
And now I can see Your love is better
Than all the others that I've seen
I'm breathing deep, of all Your goodness
Your loving-kindness to me
“Lean
Back” by Maverick City Music:
In that moment, I knew why
I was there. I had come here to lean back into His arms, to remind myself of
His love, and to rest. It never felt so good! I couldn’t stop smiling! My heart
was singing!
During the next two weeks,
I started noticing this theme of “mountains” appearing in every conversation,
every story I was absorbing from Scripture….(Have you ever wondered how
symbolic mountains are in the Bible?)
· Moses
goes to Mt. Sinai to seek God’s face and direction for the nation he was now
leading.
· Elijah
goes to Mt. Carmel to display God’s power to the prophets of Baal, and asks God
for rain!
· Jesus
often retreats to the mountains to pray in solitude.
· Jesus
prayed at the Mount of Olives before he is executed on Calvary (a hill).
· In
Psalms, mountains are often used as symbols of stability, things that never
change.
Throughout Scripture mountains
are a place where God’s Spirit dwells, a symbol of His majesty and stability. As
powerful as mountain tops moments seem to be, we were never meant to stay on
the mountain.
There is a time to go to
the mountain to seek God’s face and then there is a time to walk with Him (by
faith) through the valley.
Hmm… I wonder where else
mountains have been a part of my story? I found myself asking.
When I was discerning where
to serve after graduation, I remember worshiping at church on a Sunday while we
sang “All
the Poor and Powerless” and the words to the bridge said:
Shout
it
Go
on and scream it from the mountains
Go
on and tell it to the masses
That
He is God
In full surrender of the
moment, my heart cried, Ok God, where are these mountains and masses? Let’s
Go!
In hilarious irony, three
years later I am walking with Him in this literal “valley” at UBC.
Some questions to ponder:
What has your mountain top
moment been?
How have you experiences “walking
by faith” in the valley?
What has helped you fix
your eyes on Jesus during those times?
