God has a purpose for our mountaintop experiences. Don’t miss yours.

 

IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING

From the Mountain to the Battle

 We all love our spiritual mountaintop experiences. We’d like to stay there forever, basking in the revelation or the experience. God, of course, has other plans and a specific purpose for our mountaintop moments. He wants to use them to prepare us for the upcoming battles that await us. Peter, James, and John wanted to set up camp on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured after their encounter with Moses and Elijah. God, however, knew that a demon-possessed boy needed their help down below.

Fifteen hundred years earlier, the Israelites congregated at the foot of Mt. Horeb while God spoke to them and delivered His Law to His people. It must have been an unforgettable experience as God’s words came with fire, smoke, lightning, and the sound of trumpets! As the ground at the foot of the mountain shook, the people trembled in fear (Ex. 19:16-25).

As important as this “experiencing God” moment was, they had to move on. God couldn’t allow them to settle at this now “historic” monument. He hadn’t delivered them from Egyptian bondage to live in the wilderness at the base of a mountain. The deliverance from the Egyptians was only the first step on their journey to the land He had promised them. His plans for them were bigger and more wonderful than anything they could imagine or experience if they stayed at the mountain.

AS I SEE IT

Since the land God had promised to them was already occupied by wicked and fierce people, God had to prepare His people for the battles ahead. At the mountain, God put His own power on display so His people would trust in Him to defeat the enemies, no matter how big they were. On the mountain God was preparing His people in the art of spiritual warfare. The battles ahead were His battles, not theirs. Their responsibility was to trust in Him as they engaged the enemies. When the time to leave the mountain had come, God told them to pack up and head for “home.”

Think back on your own mountaintop experiences. Can you see how God was preparing you for what happened next? We tend to focus on the glory of the moment and how good it made us feel. If only we could capture those moments so we could relive them over and over. Most likely, we missed God’s point. The purpose wasn’t so we could relive a feel-good moment. It was so we would be better equipped (more confident in God) for our next “assignment.”

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