Monday, August 2: Climb every mountain!

In less than a month, I am returning to climb Mt. Whitney, the 14,505-foot tall mountain in central California, for nearly the 20th time. It was on that mountain almost 15 years ago that I started to hear God. On my first trek up the mountain, I was just above 12,000 feet at Trail Camp, with a thunderstorm approaching. From my perch on a hillside, I could see the pinnacles above, the valley far below and the huge, billowing clouds blowing toward me. Unable to see anything that man made, I was focused on God’s creation. I felt so small, so insignificant in the grand scheme of it all. In the midst of that thought, I felt an inner prodding reminding me that I mattered to God. Moments later, when the thunder sounded, the lightning was immediate, as the storm was right on top of me. Though I didn’t begin to follow the Lord for years after that, I began to search for Him. Consequently, Mt. Whitney always has held a special place in my heart. It’s not that God is any more available in the mountains, but when the cares of the world are removed, I seem to hear Him easier there.


1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psalm 121


Though God created all of the earth’s topographies, there is something special about mountains. They are visible from incredible distances, and the steep, jagged edges give the impression that there is no way under, over, through or around them. Yet as big as the mountains are, God is so much bigger! In the Bible, all travelers go “up to Jerusalem.” The word “up” does not designate north, as the same word is used when traveling from any direction. Jewish men were required to make three journeys yearly to God’s Holy City for Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, and those making lengthy pilgrimages would sleep along the road of the mountainous terrain. They looked to God for protection, as He preserves our souls, along with our coming in and going out.

He loves us so much that He cannot take His eyes away from us; He never sleeps. He gives us such a solid foundation that our feet cannot be moved, nor our walks stumbled. In the brightest sunlight, He protects us. In the darkness of night, He is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. God is not the man upstairs, a bigger, better one of us. He is the Creator of all, yet He cares about every single aspect of our lives. If you feel small or insignificant, remember that God’s attention to detail keeps His focus right upon you. It is a miracle that He loves us in the midst of our failures, and that He wants us to know His love. If you seek Him, you will find Him. If you want to hear His voice, you will! If you want to see Him, He will help you. Yet it has to be your choice to climb that mountain! Once you are His, He will keep you forever!


But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29