“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Mark 11:23
“He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
“Jesus replied, Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” Matthew 21:21
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
I had been on the mission field about 4 days. My heart was troubled one morning as I sat staring at the illuminated clouds surrounding the volcanoes. I sat, admiring God’s artistry, the ridges He sculpted in the mountains and the detail work He created with them. As I stared, He whispered to me:
“You can move those, you know.”
My mind came back to all of the verses in the Bible that encouraged believers to ask for such a bold request. Feeling a little afraid and a little silly for wanting to ask, I started small. If you read my last blog, you know I first prayed for the clouds to move and dissipate so I could see the top of the mountain, and they did just that. A couple days later, I tested it again. I asked for the clouds to move and dissipate and once again, they did! There was a deeper message being conveyed. If God can do all of this, how much more can He move mountains in my heart to help me become a woman after His own?
He reminded me that He created me even more intricate than the mountains, and encouraged me to stand as confident as they. Just as mountains cannot hide, neither should I. The top of the mountain is a very special part. The top is the reason why they can be confident because it gives them the height to be seen by all. Typically, because they are so high, the top of the mountain is unstained by the world, whereas the bottom regions are more industrialized, more inhabited. It is easier to blemish because of how accessible it is for humans, who will then ruin bits and pieces of it’s landscape. When they come to inhabit and destroy, they change the heart of the very thing God created. It no longer has the core of what it was meant to be, but now the world has changed what it looks like and has taken out the variety and character of His masterpiece.
This is exactly what our lives are. God calls us to be at the top of the mountain, standing in confidence with Him and being so close to Him that we are unstained by the world. When we don’t live in that confidence, it makes room for the world to get in a little at a time, causing you to doubt that there is a better place higher up the mountain. Then Satan comes and attacks, destroying the very essence of what God created you to be, tempting you to see an image of yourself that God never intended or created you to be in the first place. I have believed in the lies. I allowed myself to be stained and tempted, believing that I had become the very thing I knew I was not created to be. That day, I began praying for God to move the mountain. Not just the physical ones in front of me, but the ones I can be blinded from seeing – in my heart, my mind, my soul, and my life.
On Monday, I was in charge of team time (every night we come together to do activities with each other for bonding). I was going to encourage everyone to pray with me to move the volcano, but it rained extremely hard and it was very dark that evening. Since the storm wasn’t predicted to happen because rainy season is over, I took it as a sign the Lord had different plans for my team time. We sat, contemplating the ways the Lord was moving in us and the struggles we encountered since leaving home. We talked for awhile about joys and struggles, creating an atmosphere where a teammate was able to share the burdens she is bearing while walking with God. We began praying over her, and I realized the mountains He wanted to move were actually inside us. We needed to command the mountains in her life to begin shaking. We had an incredible night of praying over each other and encouraging one another. That night, God wanted me to hear Him more clearly, to see His handiwork and to realize how important the heart is to Him.
After seeing God move the mountains of our hearts, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of His presence. A couple nights later, I stared at the volcano as the sun was setting, marveling again at the artistry and detail God put in every ridge and His variety in every tree. He went so far as to color shadows in the creases and landscape, that nothing would ever be the same. His delight in variety ended up reminding me again that I can move mountains. So, as the shy child I can be, I sheepishly asked him to allow the volcano to spit out lava, that my teammates and I would be able to see the fire we have been awaiting to see since we came to Guatemala. I asked for it that it would be a testament of His glory. Two minutes after asking God in my childish state, he answered my prayers.
“LAVA!!!!!!”
I opened the door and yelled in the house. The thundering of footsteps raced up the stairs to join me on the rooftop. As soon as my team joined me, the lava stopped.
“PRAY!!!!!” I shouted. “I swear if you pray, He’ll let it continue. That’s what started it in the first place.”
I secretly wondered if they thought I was crazy. But God heard my faith. All of a sudden, lava spewed out the top looking like the most beautiful red fountain we had ever seen. We sat and marveled. A few minutes later, everybody went back to their activities downstairs, but I couldn’t leave. The volcano spewed for as long as a watched it. I gave thanks, rejoiced, and reestablished how amazing my Father is. He literally answered my prayer and moved a mountain. As soon as I joined my team downstairs, the lava stopped and the volcano was silenced. His love for me is overwhelming. The fact He entrusts me with His Spirit to do these things is baffling.
I leave you with this: God is alive and active. When is the last time you put yourself in a situation where you had to trust God, especially with something uncomfortable or seemingly impossible? I still have much to learn and I want to continue to put myself in a state of being force to lean on my Father more, to allow Him to parent me and allow Him to come alongside me in life. I pray this blog is an encouragement to you. His miraculous love is quite possibly not as miraculous as we may think, but given freely with a joyful heart. His love is not a miracle, but an unbelievable characteristic. You can trust Him friends, He hears you.
Below, enjoy the progression of the sunset to the eruption from that unforgettable moment.
Constantly seeking and finding,
Mary Beth
******** Video of the Volcano Erupting ********
