Mountaintops

We have all had times on the mount, when we have seen things from God's standpoint and have wanted to stay there; but God will never allow us to stay there.

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
(October 1 entry)


In August our son climbed to the top of Mt. Elbert (14,433 feet) with the die hard hikers in his Scout troop. From the highest point in Colorado, he sent me this photo of himself at the summit.

Amazing things happen atop mountains. The ark rests on the mountains of Ararat, Moses receives the Ten Commandments atop Mount Sinai, and Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John, on yet another mountain. Mountain tops are fun places to be. You have that exhilarating feeling of being on top of the world. You have a well deserved sense of accomplishment. And the sheer distance from civilization helps you put your life in perspective.

But God never tells us to stay on top of the mountain. Noah and his family were told to increase in number and fill the earth. Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the tablets, and the second time, the Lord told him to leave that place with the whole nation of Israel. After the transfiguration, not only do Jesus and the three others come down from the mountain, but Jesus instructs them not to tell anyone what they saw "until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."

My son didn't need any encouragement to return after the respite atop Mount Elbert. He didn't want to get caught by lightning in an afternoon thunderstorm. And I don't think his stomach would ever let him stay away from the campsite too awful long!

God will find a way to get us off the mountain and into the valley.