In so many passages in scripture, we read about Jesus going up to the mountains to pray. Sometimes, it was with His disciples, and oftentimes, it was by Himself. Powerful spiritual moments often took place on the mountains. From significant encounters with God to deeper prayer, and so much else, there were countless times when God’s glory was so profoundly revealed. But every time Jesus and his disciples went up to the mountains, they didn’t stay there, they came back down. And we must do the same.
We all have mountaintop experiences in our lives- those moments where we experience God in profound ways and where we feel especially close to God, where we experience in a powerful way God’s love for us, and deepen our love for God. It is on these mountains that we often want to stay. To be at the peaks is where the views are the greatest. We look down at the valleys, and the problems, challenges, and the ordinary and mundane routines of our daily lives seem so far away while up on these mountains, almost as if they don’t exist. Life seems so much more exciting. We so deeply desire to stay up on the mountain, to live up on the peaks and enjoy the views. But after some time, we need to go back down, back into our daily lives and regular routines.
We all need mountaintop experiences in our lives. These spiritual experiences are the times when we encounter God and His love in profound ways. We have our hearts set on fire. We recognize so easily how He is working. Life during these mountaintop experiences often seems so much easier because we are often surrounded by people with the same faith and the same beliefs, who are trying to walk the same path as us. But once these mountaintop experiences end, we must go back down into the valleys. If we stay on the mountain, we cannot share our experiences with the world around us. And that is what Jesus calls us all to do.
The experiences we have on retreats, pilgrimages, mission trips, and during various other faith opportunities are the mountaintop experiences that give us those spiritual highs. And we must take those experiences and bring them back down the mountain, into our everyday lives. What good are the experiences if they stay up on the mountain? We need to share those experiences by the way we live, letting Jesus be reflected in what we say and do.
It’s often easier to live our faith on the mountaintops. But what about in the ordinary moments, the moments that might seem dry and boring? What about in the daily routines of our lives, where we wake up, go to work, come home, and repeat the next day,where nothing too eventful is happening? These are the moments that are a true test of our faith. These are the moments that challenge us to go deeper and to keep moving forward in our faith, even when it is hard.
Are we truly following Jesus, not just up to the mountains, but as He walks across the dry, flat, and barren land? Are we bringing the love and light of Jesus to those we cross paths with as we walk through each day?
Faith and The Good Stuff 