Mountains Move
“The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.”- Psalm 97:5
Mount Everest…29,029’
K2…28,251’
Mount Kilimanjaro…19,341’
Mount Denali (formerly McKinley)…20,308’
Mount Whitney (tallest in California)…14,505’
This list is some of the world’s highest and most famous mountains. As we have begun a new teaching series, extrSTrength, learning about the powerful combination of God’s Spirit and Truth, I have been thinking a lot about mountains. This expedition has led to a fascinating, faith-enlivening discovery of these majestic peaks. In the Bible, Mountains convey both an imposing obstacle to overcome and an ultimate glory to be revealed. They serve as a model of our greatest struggle and highest splendor.
This GREATEST OBSTACLE is on our path, in our way, immovable and unconquerable without faith. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 17:20, “Truly, I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” The focus and premise of our extraSTrength series is that God has a greater dimension for us to embrace and experience. As you consider the current “life” mountains you are traversing, make sure that you allow the Holy Spirit to be your guide and your faith to be the oxygen tank strengthening you. Do not allow the size or shadow of your mountain to overwhelm you. Speak faith to the giant you are seeing and see it become nothing before you! May the words of the Lord in Zechariah 4:7 be a prophetic promise to you today, “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of God bless it! God bless it!”
Mountains also serve as the place of GREATEST GLORY. It is on the peaks that the presence of God is manifest before us and deposited within us. In the Scriptures there are many references to mountains as being places where people met with God, received truth from God, and experienced the glory of God. TRUTH IS DELIVERED on mountains. It was on Mount Sinai where Moses spent forty days with the Lord and received the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34:29 says, “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant, because he had spoken with the Lord.” It was also on mountains where Jesus would deliver truth and glory to people. His first teaching is known as “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7). Our Savior was also radiantly transfigured on a mountain. Upon viewing His glory, the disciples are commanded by God the Father, “This My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:5)
May it be that throughout your travels and your trials, that you are constantly seeking the Lord’s truth for your life. May you spend time in His presence, may you get above the everyday noise of this world, and may you feast on His Word. He wants to show you what to do and what to avoid, what to believe and what to resist. May the Word guide your steps, inform your faith, and strengthen your frame! His truth is not OUTDATED, it is OVERFLOWING with life, promise and victory! May Isaiah 2:2-3 be your invitation to His mountain top, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.’ The law will go out from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”