"Now therefore, I
pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may
know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation
is Your people." And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I
will give you rest." Exodus 33:13-14
All of us have had
an experience in our lives that we see as a "mountaintop" experience. It is interesting that those
experiences are considered to be a part of our past … meaning we have had to
move on from those mountain tops.
The Bible speaks
often of "mountaintop"
experiences in which those involved encountered God in some supernatural
fashion as He clearly manifested Himself.
Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Solomon, just to name a few, all
encountered God on mountains. The mountains at times represented stability,
power and obstacles. However, there is
always one thing for certain in any “mountaintop”
experience. The mountain tops are never
permanent residences for God’s people.
God brings us to the mountain for a
reason and He has us leave the mountain
for a reason. This models our spiritual pilgrimage in the Christian life.
for a reason. This models our spiritual pilgrimage in the Christian life.
Moses & Co.
found themselves facing Mt. Sinai. As
the people approached the mountain, the thundering and lightening of God caused
them to be afraid. They asked Moses to
go up on the mountain to speak to God for them. In that visitation God provided for Moses and
the people His laws for living (Ten Commandments). That was the highlight of the mountain
experience. The low point of this time
is that the people rebelled and sinned while Moses was up on the mountain representing them to God. For almost a
year they camped and resided beside the Mountain of God. Finally, the time had
come to leave the mountain behind. Moses,
and I am sure the Children of Israel, must have thought, “The mountain’s behind
us; now what?” When the mountain is
behind you there is a journey before you. And with the journey is the growing before
you.
The Mountain Behind
Us … The Journey Before Us
- Journey
Beyond Our Place of Comfort
There is always the
danger of becoming too comfortable on the mountain. Moses wanted the comfort of someone going
with him. The people had become
comfortable with Mt. Sinai and God said, "leave." God desires to be
our comfort so He moves us beyond the things we tend to become comfortable in.
- Journey
Beyond Our Place of Security
When we become
comfortable in something, we then find security in that thing instead of God. The mountain had become the people's security
rather than the Lord God.
- Journey
Beyond Our Self
To this point the
Children of Israel had majored upon themselves rather than upon God. If we are
not careful the mountain will lead us to trust in ourselves rather than God. Israel had a false sense of security that led
them to trust in themselves.
It is easy to want
to put down roots on the “mountaintop”. Who doesn’t want to keep that feeling? We tend to not want to budge from any
feel-good spot or comfort zone, especially when we are going to probably be
challenged! One thing I have learned to
embrace in life is the journey.
Sometimes it is uncomfortable and scary but I know that this is my
journey that God mapped out for me and He did it for a reason! This week we are going to talk more about
moving on from the mountaintops, the journey before us and the growth we
experience as a result.
"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
