Approaching the Mountain

How often have we begged God to remove a mountain from our paths for fear of the climb? We sing songs about this. We hear inspirational sermons encouraging us that if only we have enough faith, we need not bother to scale the cliffs ahead. Consequently, how often have we chastised ourselves for not being able to convince God that we have enough faith to move the mountain? Countless occasions, right?

I wonder, though, if perhaps venturing onto the mountain would reveal not so much about the quality of our faith but rather our state of faithfulness to our Creator and His faithfulness to walk with us. As much as we all would prefer a path of ease, I wonder how much would remain unknown to us not only about our own potential but also about the character of God.

Just imagine for a moment the two outcomes from the scene described below:

You are walking along a neatly manicured path. Vibrant colors of the most exotic flowers line either side and the sweet sound of a bird’s song floats into your ears. Suddenly, your foot stumbles on a jagged rock jutting out of the ground and you realize that your sweet path has now morphed into a scene from Frodo’s perilous journey through the mountains in the Lord of the Rings. Shock and fear grip you. This is not what you planned. You never expected that your kind Father would lead you here. You wonder if you made a wrong turn somewhere along the way. You call out to God, deploring Him for mercy. You do not want to move forward onto this perilous path. You want to close your eyes and open them to realize that this new scenery was just a nightmare. You trust that nothing is impossible for your God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. You fully believe that He can remedy the situation for you. This is what you have been taught. With all the faith that you can muster, you turn to Him for help.

Outcome #1:

God hears your cries. He sees your effort to believe and sees that you at least have faith the size of a mustard seed. The mountain is removed from your path. You are in awe of the great power and glory of God and are grateful that He responded favorably to your request. Without any questions or concerns, you place one foot in front of the other and continue on the path with a sense of victory. Life is grand.

Outcome #2:

God hears your cries. He sees your effort to believe and sees that you at least have faith the size of a mustard seed; however, He wants to reveal His faithfulness by demonstrating how He will strengthen and guide you through the trials of the mountain. Though a bit leery, you agree to move forward. Throughout your journey: You climb. You fall. You scrape your knee. You are cold. You are hungry. You are lost. You are lonely. Your Father gives you strength. He helps you up. He heals you. He comforts you. He provides for you. He guides you. He reveals His presence to you. The summit is within sight and you cry for joy at the sight of the sun setting on the valley below. You look to your Father, amazed by His loving kindness that sustained you so that you could share such a moment together with Him. You have grown to love and trust Him in ways that you have only read about from others. You have learned to recognize Him in the subtleties and the extremes. You actually know Him now, not just know of Him. The bond that you feel with Him reaches into depths of your heart that you had not previously even known in yourself before this journey. All of the perils of the journey suddenly fade, for they cannot contend with the brilliant rays of God’s glory.

Dear reader, I would not dare to say that it would be wrong to prefer the first outcome over the later. I merely would like to offer a gentle challenge not to despise your mountain—and not to despise the God who has not removed it from your path.