God’s creation is so amazingly different. We can go from the cool, moist breeze and warm, fine sand of an ocean; to the dry, oven-like air of the desert, to the crisp, clean pine smell of the mountains. In California, you can do all of those in a couple of hours. God’s diversity in creation demonstrates His artistry, and amazingly, each of those places tugs at our hearts differently. Personally, I am a mountain man. I can’t tell you why, but I can tell you that I become a different person when scaling the heights.
Part of it, certainly, is the solitude, as with each step becoming increasingly difficult, there just aren’t many people willing to do the work to get to the top. You don’t see hot dog stands along the way! In fact, a mountain top is one of the few places where you can see what God made, instead of what man made. There’s nothing like a storm in the mountains, either. The lightning and thunder seem to be right on top of you, and the raindrops don’t have far to fall. It seems like the height of the mountains holds the clouds back and the storm just hovers there.
All that being said, my favorite part of climbing a mountain is the view. It seems to change with every single step. Depending on the difficulty of the hike or climb, we don’t always take the time to turn around. Rarely in life do we take the time to reflect on what has been accomplished in our lives, but on a mountain, each step is another accomplishment. Sometimes, I get lost in my pursuit of the summit and forget to pursue the enjoyment of each step of the journey. But each time my lungs start to ache, and I take a needed rest, I turn around and see how far I’ve come, how small everything looks below and how different the perspective is from the spot I’m standing in.
This journey called life is a lot like that. Think of David in the Valley of Elah, approaching the 9’9” Goliath without fear, for he knew that it was not his battle, but the Lord’s. Battles are fought in valleys, the low places of our lives. When you are faced with an enemy, and that enemy is upon you, everything seems so big. When the battle is over, you return home to the mountains. Looking down on the valley, what seemed so large, now appears to be very small and inconsequential.
44 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands."
1 Samuel 17:44-47 (NKJV)
If you are the Lord’s, then your battles are His. David picked up five, smooth stones for his sling. With the first one, he killed Goliath. My guess is that the stones were very small, as that would demonstrate the power of God, rather than the power of man. Did David pick up five stones because he thought he would miss four times? No, he knew that the giant had four brothers, and likely, he would be a target of their vengeance. God has promised that He never will leave nor forsake you. Why do we lose sight of the fact that anything in our paths, He has allowed to be there? If your enemy or trial is large, don’t forget that your God is larger! After the battle, get out of the valley and climb the mountain. With each step, you can see where you came from. Notice that you can’t see where you are going, but you know that it is going to be beautiful when you get there. If you take the time to turn around, you can look back and see where you were in the past. That perspective often brings a memory of God’s hand in getting you through the difficulties, even to the point that sometimes, it’s hard to believe you were ever down there on the valley floor!
I heard a story of a man who had a sweet dog, but the man never allowed the dog in the house. The dog would sit outside and sniff at the door, waiting for his master to open that door. More than anything, the dog wanted to go inside. It had nothing to do with what was inside, but it had everything to do with who was inside. Heaven is the same for us! We don’t know what it’s going to be like when we get there, but we know Who will be there! We can’t see the mountaintop, but we know the view will be great and that it will have been well worth the journey when we arrive…and when we dwell in the house of the Lord forever!
No comments:
Post a Comment