Crossing Mountains

Crossing Mountains

5/9/12

Mountains, humans have used this word to describe an array of meanings, situations, and even the actual hills in some cases.  The word mountain is a very descriptive word that allows the mind to recognize the toughness that must be accomplished before this part of the journey is completed.  Whether a person illustrates a mountain with a trial or just observing the scenery a mountain can make or break a person along their path in life.  It has been proven time and time again that unless God is in control of your life, mountains cannot be seen for what they truly are, building blocks which strengthen your life upon completion of their passage.

Delta, Colorado the place where I call home and have called it my place of residence for almost twenty years now; it is a small town on the western side of Colorado neatly situated in a valley which has mountains on three sides.  Most days are filled with clear skies which allow a person, if they wished, to look at these mountain ranges for hours upon end.  One of my favorite things to do is to just take a drive into the mountains and just look at all of the things they have to offer for scenery.

I am amazed at how many scenes that a mountain range can provide a person on a minute by minute assessment.  Almost every morning the Grand Mesa provides me with a different view as I walk between the buildings where I work.  The mountain itself does not change at all but when the sun hits the side of the mountain it provides a new image for me to look at.  This scenario can occur more than one time on any given morning, and to be honest I sometimes make an excuse to cross the parking lot unnecessarily just to see what image I can see next.  It is a beautiful site to my eyes and it continues to allow my mind to wonder of the greatness of God.

How many times have we took a trip and when we began to look at the route to our destination saw that we would have to cross a mountain pass or two.  I know I have looked for an alternative route just to try and avoid going through mountains, or even two lane roads that would be curvy.  This actually happened to us this last March when we took a short trip to Arizona.  Before we left to return to Colorado I had been looking at other routes to follow home, there were a few options but I had no idea what the roads were like or how long it would take going one of these other routes.  I knew that the scenery would be different and would see some parts of Arizona that I had never seen before, but instead of taking the adventurous new route I stuck with the common path; however, we did venture off the normal route a bit but it was a route that I had been on before.  Was it the wrong way, no but I guess the route overtook the unknown.

Even in modern day travel scenarios we humans like to take the safe passage.  All of us who have travelled through the mountains know that the vehicles that we are riding in or on have to make adjustments to climb the upward slope of the mountain.  Even on small hills we can feel the engine change its speed to accommodate the changing conditions.  We have to admit that even the slightest change in an engine gets our blood pressure up and we begin to think the worst is going to happen.  This reaction is once again a normal pattern of thinking but like before it should not rule our decisions to complete the task.

To many of us the word mountain has a totally different meaning, one that actually could bring tears of sorrow or even great inner pain to our lives, and when a person has to deal with a mountain in their lives it can prove to be one of the most difficult periods of time.  As we look at the mountains from a distance we begin to try and build a strategy for their mastery and as we get closer to them our nerves begin to take control and doubts enter into our thought patterns.  This is a normal process to be concerned about what lies ahead but it should gain access to our critical thinking since we have not yet arrived to the obstacle.  These imminent mountain challenges can appear at the most inopportune times in our lives, but whenever they appear, they must be approached and conquered.

Sometimes when approaching these mountains we humans try and find a way around our obstacle by sending out our own scouts or to change direction to obtain a different or better view of the mountain, and there is nothing wrong with that but there comes a time after all options of going around the mountain have been exhausted and we contend that the mountain must be crossed.  It is at this moment that we seek perfect council and take the suggested path. Yes it will be rugged and rough but we must trust that our guide knows the best way to complete this task.

You ever wonder what it was like to cross the plains in a covered wagon, what about crossing mountains in the same mode of transportation?  The pioneers accomplished this feat many times over a period of decades, it was long and hard and some of them did not make the entire trip.  Some went part of the way and turned back defeated others went further but stopped at the base of the mountain and set up their living conditions there.  Yet others decided to go further than the rest and accepted the challenge, ignored all of the rumors and horror stories and ventured across the mountain passes.  I am not saying that the people that stopped short of the other side of the mountains wimped out by any means, they were brave to even think about travelling out this far by the current means of travel, but I have read of many of these people regretting the fact that they did not complete the trek; some even tried a second time with varying results among them.

Now we know that there are many opportunities for God to step in and move our mountains for us, this is not a new concept to anyone of us; however, it is God’s privilege to move these mountains or to allow us to cross them and no matter which method is chosen we must continue to keep our eyes on Him for guidance.  Many of us once we see that our mountain has been removed or we find out that its crossing is not that difficult we tend to turn our eyes away from Him and begin to cross the path on our own terms once again.  This is where we make most of our mistakes during this rugged portion of the journey.

The best way for this message to relate to personal human travels is by way of the pioneer so I am going to stick with this scene as I progress through the mountain trip.  We are now faced with the task of climbing our mountain and these mountain trips can sneak up on or or we can see them coming.

Most of us would enjoy the day hiking along a trail in the mountains.  Others would enjoy it so much that they might take two days to complete the hike, yet anyone who has taken a hike knows that by the end of the day you are tired and your muscles are sore and will ache in the morning.  This is a common symptom that your body has been used in certain ways that it is not accustomed to on a routine basis.  Hiking along a twisted, up and down, small narrow path is quite trying on our physical bodies but after the hike is completed and we recognize that the trail has ended, we feel like we have accomplished an impossible feat.  We feel good and our bodies are rewarded by the challenge.

How about our spirits going through mountains, ever think about those types of mountain passages?  We do face these passages on a continual basis, for if we didn’t Satan wouldn’t be doing his job.  Ever wonder why a family member that you have not talked with in over ten years just suddenly calls and begins to talk as if they were the closet person you grew up with?  How many thoughts cross your mind when this occurs, and were they all good thoughts?  This situation poses as a mountain to our minds and our spirits, for we all know that our family holds our darkest secrets and that each of them has their own rendition of the facts.

All of us have had loved ones that have given us bad news concerning other family members.  How many of us have had girlfriends or boyfriends break up with us?  How many have received bad news from a friend that they are moving away?  These are all examples of our spirits having to cross spiritual mountains, in which we are tested to see how we have prepared our spiritual defenses against our enemy.  Our enemy attacks us in many ways even through our physical form and it is imperative that we recognize these mountains and refer to our foundation for help across these mountains.

As mentioned earlier, not all of the mountain crossings will we come out unscathed.  Many times while hiking we fall and bruise things that we did not know we had, our spirits become bruised as well while we are completing the spiritual mountain.  We must never forget that we are humans and that we will make mistakes in our lives but these mistakes should not become the centerpiece of our journey in which they become a hindrance in our forward progression.  Yes, others will plot these ugly events against us put it is all part of a plan to end your journey and for you to not fulfill what God has deemed His will for your life.

God does place mountains in our way to get our attention.  Remember the Israelites in wandering around in the desert and how they continued to complain about the conditions that they were in; what did God do?  He placed a huge mountain in front of them and as the old song goes, he told their leader to take another lap around that mountain.  Mountains can teach us things about ourselves and hopefully allow us to see the real us and to get re-acquainted with God so that He can lead our lives to the fullest.

Once we have reached the peak of the mountain crossing the rejoicing cannot begin, we still have to return back to the original level that we came from a valley if you wish.  The path down the mountain is just as dangerous if not more so than climbing up the mountain.  Even in these times God is still in control of your path and needs to be consulted while going down the mountain.  We have a tendency to relax and let our guard down because we believe that the hard part is behind us and that smooth sailing is ahead.  This is a perfect time for an ambush, both a physical fall and tumble down the hill and a spiritual blind-sided attack from Satan.  Even if it seems like the road is improving, we must keep our spiritual guards up to thwart off these attacks.

The final stage of the mountain crossing is back on the normal surface of travel.  It is usually a time of relief and peacefulness.  Many of us will begin our journey once again after a short rest others will continue on the road like nothing has happened but all of us will carry the signs of a rough trip upon us and mend our wounds as best we can, brush ourselves off and shake the dirt off our feet.  We have completed this mountainous trek and we are ready to face the next challenge. 

Even though we may not have been unhurt through the mountains we need to remember to thank God for His blessings and that we made it safely through the tough times.  Build an altar in our minds, hearts and spirit so that we never forget the dangers that God has protected us from.  Then it is time to begin the restoration process so that we can be prepared for the next mountain range that will be just around the corner.

DLB