HE MOVES MOUNTAINS

Have you ever been out taking a walk and found yourself going uphill? As you continue on the journey, the incline gets steeper and you find each step to be more difficult than the last. If you stop midway to rest, the journey then becomes a battle of wills, yours against an incline that is resistant to your best efforts. But once you have made your way to the top of the hill the rest of the journey seems easy, right? You are able to walk down the incline without as much as a thought.  There is a reason that it is easier to come down a hill than it is to go up, it is called resistance. The earth has a gravitational pull that attracts everything to its center. The further we move from the earth’s surface, the more we have to work to resist the force of gravity.

Many of us approach our walk with Christ as if we are going uphill. We try to move forward and operate under our own strength instead of relying on a power greater than ourselves. We say that we trust God and have turned our lives over to him, but we keep resisting, so our forward movement is hindered and weighted. We do not pray and speak to Him about the condition of our lives. We refuse to read the Bible to find direction for life’s complications. We fellowship for reasons outside of the will of God, and still expect Him to bless our efforts. It is like walking uphill, and expecting our legs not to hurt. This nonchalant attitude towards God, His word, and the body of Christ is why we find ourselves fighting an uphill battle in our daily lives.

The Bible tells us that, “’If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword,’ for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 1:19-20). We must stop fighting situations and circumstances that are larger than us. Sometimes the fight is because we have given something too much power in our lives…too much head space and too much heart space. These are the times that we must truly let go and let God.

Consider King Jehoshaphat facing the vast army of Ammonites and Moabites, he sought out God before going into battle. God said to him do not fear, ‘I will go before you…’ (see 2 Chronicles 20:15). He took God at his word and instead of resisting, he ordered his men to go out ahead of the army and sing praises to the God of Israel (see 2 Chronicles 20:21). It was no longer a battle for King Jehoshaphat, he gave it over and the battle was the Lord's.

So whatever mountains we are trying to climb in our own strength, we must get out of His way and let God move the mountain! We must be prayerful, we have to feed on His Word, and fellowship with other believers on a regular basis. His love is pulling us toward Him; we cannot resist and still claim He is Lord. We must surrender to His love. Our faith in His ability allows us to move freely and unhindered as if we are running downhill with no resistance. We have to keep moving towards the love of God and that will always draw us nearer to Him!

Scripture: His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.  Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?  He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. Job 9:4-5 NIV

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the love that you have for us, even in our resistance. So forgive us for not counting on you. Fill us with the Holy Spirit that we may be filled with your love and be righteous in our actions and efforts. Our joy and strength is found in you, and we will have praise in our hearts and on our lips as we turn our battles over to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Read 2 Chronicles 20 for further insight.