Devotional 8-21-09

Mark 11:20-23: "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. (NIV)

God is the Lord of this creation. God is sovereign over all things. No structure, no creature, no object or being my act or be still without God's allowing it to be so. Jesus anticipation that the mountain will respond to our command is not based on the size of one's faith but on the God to whom faith looks. This is why the discourse begins with the command "Have faith in God!"
But what can be said for the figurative mountain that simply will not move? What can be said for the individual who finds himself or herself faced with such a mountain in the form of some circumstance or trial? What can be said for that situation when, despite every protest or proclamation hurled against it, the obstacle in a person's life will not simply go away?

Could it be that the mountain is not moving because it has not accomplished God's intended purpose? Could it be that in the course of doing God's bidding, the mountain has some service to render to you?

In the Hebrew Bible, Our Father (who art in Heaven) is often called "El Shaddai", generally translated in the Christian Bible as "God Almighty." But "El Shaddai" also makes reference to the old perception of God as the "God of the Mountains". Time and again from Moses to Elijah, even on down to Jesus and the Apostles, God is met in intimate, mysterious, and supernatural ways in the mountains. I imagine that such is the experience of the modern-day mountain climber. Even if she or he does not recognize or name the presence and proof of divinity in their experience, I still suspect that the divine encounter is what keeps them climbing peak after peak. Relying on God to help us to overcome our own seemingly immovable obstacles has the same potential for divine encounter.

Now God's strength and companionship may manifest supernaturally or they may come in the appearance of your church family, a close friend, even a total stranger that provides something in the way of a word or a deed that gives you the strength to move forward. And you keep climbing...and God is with you. Progressing in this way, eventually you find that you no longer need the mountain to move because you find that you are on top of it! And as a result you are standing higher than you ever have. In moving higher up the mountain you have moved deeper into the presence of the God upon whom you relied in order to get there.

It may be that the mountain in your life that won't move is God's way of trying to get you to a fresh or deeper encounter with God Almighty.

Joe Hill