I was having my quiet time today and going
through the daily devotional that I’ve been reading everyday since the race
started, My Utmost for His Highest,
by Oswald Chambers. Today’s message really spoke to me, so I’m going share it
with you on here. The entry from October 1st is as follows:
“The
Place of Exaltation”
From
Mark 9
We
have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen
things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never
allow us to stay there. The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting
the power to descend from the mountain. If we only have the power to go up,
something is wrong. It is a wonderful
thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he
may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people in the valley. We are
not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful
attractions in life- those are simply intended to be for moments of
inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and
that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet, our spiritual
selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. We feel that we
could talk and live like perfect angels, if we could only stay on the mountaintop.
Those times of exaltation are exceptional and they have their meaning in our
life with God, but we must beware to prevent our spiritual selfishness from
wanting to make them the only time.
We
are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful
teaching. In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than
teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make
us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, “What’s the use of
this experience?” We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The
moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something
in God’s purpose.
places where I am surrounded by incredible natural beauty in the form of
landscapes, mountains, jungle forests, lakes, and waterfalls, I am constantly
drawn towards the highest peak, that place where the jungle opens up into a
clearing at the top of the climb and we are able to see the breathtaking views
around us. These are moments when you feel alive, when everything is at your
fingertips and you feel closest to God through the beauty around you. You know
He created it, and you just want to soak it all up and never let it go. But
eventually you have to go back down the hill to the valley below.
The parallels are incredible to our
experiences with God. We feel closest to him during intense worship or at
retreats where we are challenged and pushed to right our ways and focus on intensely
following Christ. We raise our hands, we FEEL close, and we want to hold on to
that moment. We ride these moments in our walk with Christ, from mountaintop
experience to mountaintop experience. They are what give us that momentum, that
excitement. But just like here in Cochabamba, I can’t stay up on the hills
overlooking the city forever, I have to come back down and face the world.
it means to sustain a daily walk and pursuit of a relationship with Christ. It
took a mountaintop experience in Puno, Peru, prior to coming to Bolivia, where
the squad leaders pushed us to seek what our purpose is on this trip, why we
are really here. It was a time of sharing and encouragement with our squad; it
was a moment of inspiration. Since then I have been in the valley, living out
life, gaining stamina and strength through getting the Word daily, spending
significant time in prayer, sharing and encouraging and being encouraged by my
teammates, pushing each other to grow. This is where I’m meant to be, and I’m
learning how much joy there is here.
