The highest point in the world, AKA Mount Everest.
Mount Everest is a place that we read about in magazines like National Geographic or remember hearing about in a social studies class. This past Sunday, Mount Everest moved from just a famous place in the world to a place I have seen with my own eyes.
A group of us spent the early morning on our adventure day on an Everest flight. We were picked up at 5:15 am and taken on a quick ride to the airport. The plane was small, only one middle aisle with two seats on each side. Only the widow seats are sold so that everyone has a view.
On our way toward Everest, my side of the plane did not face the Himalayas. We still faced a mountain range; it was just covered in green trees instead of snow. I was taken aback by the beauty of even these mountains. I loved all the grooves and ridges. I imagined the Lord taking His finger and dragging it through the mountains to form the ridges.
I thought about how a child would run his finger through a ball of play-doh and leave a trail. In the same way, I believe God was very intentional when He designed and created each groove in every mountain.
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. {Psalm 95:3-4}
As I was awe-struck by even these “normal” mountains, my side of the plane was called up one-by-one into the cockpit to look through the windshield at Mount Everest.
The pilot pointed out the mountain that was just barely taller than the others. For some reason, I always thought of Mount Everest as a mountain completely towering above everything else. In reality, it is just slightly taller than the surrounding mountains. God was also speaking to me through this. Sometimes we make God our number one, but we place Him as just barely more important than the other things in our life. He shouldn’t be our top priority but our only priority.
I’m currently reading Gods at War by Kyle Idleman. Even though we don’t battle with religious idols like the ones that surround me in Asia, he talks about how we have other idols in our life such as food, sex, and entertainment. He writes, “God is jealous for your heart, not because he is petty or insecure, but because he loves you. The reason why God has such a huge problem with idolatry is that his love for you is all-consuming. He loves you too much to share you.” When we give our heart to the Lord, He wants our entire heart, not just the best spot. God wants to be like an enormous mountain soaring over everything else around.
We shortly turned around and started flying toward the airport. I had a beautiful view of the snow-capped Himalayas. We were given a map that displays the names and heights of the various mountains.
How nice is it to have a roadmap (or should I say skymap ha) to everything we need to know? Well, that makes me think of something my mentor once told me: Life is an open-book test, and God gives us all the answers in His Word. The Bible is our roadmap that guides us along and shows us the right path. Whatever we are facing in life, we can trust that the Word is living and working and able to guide us through it.
The entire flight only took around an hour, but the Lord spoke to me in multiple ways. I love how He is working in my heart even on adventure days. Your day may not involve seeing a world-famous landmark, but God is still wanting to show you parts of His character. How is He speaking to you today?
