There are two ultimate things I see that keep a person from living for Christ, not going to the mountain in prayer and not returning from the mountain. It is so easy for us to say we must continue to work for Jesus; we do not have time to do that right now, to read our Bibles or to study them or to pray. I stand accused of these myself; I have been too busy or I will do it later. What turns out to be later, when I am not busy is the time when my body needs rest and soon my eyes close and slumber arrives. I also have found myself so entranced by being in the presence of God that I do not want to leave the mountain but wish only to stay in worship of Him.
Neither of these is wrong but must be done in
respect of service for Him. We see the first will burn us out and make us walk
in our own strength and our own wisdom. The second makes us of no use to Christ here on
earth. Before Christ ascended, he gave His disciples a command which continues to ring for each of
His disciples through the ages,
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, even to the
end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 New America Standard
Bible)
Maybe the question we should put before
ourselves is this, are we allowing ourselves to be fed by the Holy Spirit each day
through prayer, Bible reading and
Bible study? The next question we should put to ourselves,
then, is this, are we allowing ourselves to be used by God for His
service in this world, in the place in which we live? If the answer is no to
either of these questions, the question we should ask is why not? Are you really
a believer in Jesus Christ? Are you growing in your belief and in your
relationship with God? Do you need to ask
someone to show you how to become a believer or how to grow as a disciple of Christ? These are not hard things to do;
make that step and become a growing believer. God created us in His image so He
could be in a relationship with Him. If we have not accepted that truth and His gift
of salvation then we
cannot have a relationship with Him. If we have accepted it but are not growing
in our relationship with Him, we are still drinking milk as infants and are not
accepting God’s gift of life in Him.
Assuming we are talking
as Christians who want growth, who seek purpose, God’s purpose, for our lives, we must come back to the
question again, are you spending quality time with God each day? Notice I did
not say are you spending every second of your time with God. That is not to say
you are not supposed to be in a continual relationship with Him but your
relationship should not continually be on the mountaintop. Peter, James, and
John often accompanied Jesus when He went to the mountain to pray. In one instance, Peter confronted Jesus and
wanted to build tents for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses so they could spend their
days on the mountain in communion with God. Jesus did not allow them to do
that, but, instead, took them down the mountain to face unbelief and physical
pain and spiritual need (Mark 9:1-29). Notice Jesus told the disciples this work for God requires prayer and fasting. Nothing can be done for God (in His name) without
prayer. Our relationship with God should take
us from the mountaintop to the valleys.
He should enlighten our path as we descend to where people live. It
should embolden us to speak His name, share His love, touch the people, and live His life among
them.
When Jesus came down from the mountaintop, He found
disbelief, disbelief from the father and in His remaining nine disciples. This is why the son
of the man could not be healed. The father had heard of Jesus’ healing of many
people and came with the hopes his son would be healed. This hope of the
father did not show belief but just hope. The father came to be with only
nine of the disciples and they were not “prayed up.” They
had not been on the mountaintop with Jesus that day. Because of these factors
and because of the strength of the spirit within the boy, the son remained
possessed. When Jesus came down from the mountain, the father confronted the
Son of God, was aware of His holiness, which shone from His
countenance, and could not disbelieve His power to heal his son. He
even went so far as to ask Jesus to give him faith. The father became a believer. When we come down from the mountain after our
time with God, God will show on our faces and in our words and actions. People
will believe because of
the power of God in our lives.
We must consider then,
why do we choose not to grow in our relationship with God? Moreover, why, if we do have a relationship with
God, do we not want to go
back into the valley of life and share God’s presence and love with other
people? It is because we are selfish; we do not want to give up the right to
ourselves. In other words, we are selfish. We want to be independent, of God
and of others, of obligations. We want to direct our own lives instead of
giving up the four score and ten years we have on this earth living with God and
sharing His love. Paul and the other disciples of Jesus’ time, as well as
disciples through the years, have shown what living His life on earth really is.
Sometimes life is easy and we sail through life without problems, but most
often, disciples encounter problems, trials, not unlike to other men and women. The distinction
is the way believers confront life’s problems. Believers know God has a purpose
for them in the midst of the problem and choose to continue to follow Christ through the
storm. Unbelievers most often choose to complain and hope they make it
through while not having the strength that comes from God. They want to get to
the end goal. Believers know the learning is in the midst of the problem; that is
what is important. This learning is what they show the watching world. They
show the grace and peace of
and from God that envelops them as they go through it knowing they are growing
through the trial. They are growing to be more Christ-like.
We could continue
regarding trials for
Christians and non-Christians but the point of this thought is not that. The
point is about our relationship with God. Do we wish to keep on working in this world and
not take time to be with God? Or, do we spend so much time on the mountaintop
with God we are of no use in the valley because we do not descend to the
everyday people and issues? Both of these are hindrances to God being exalted
and His love being
proclaimed. The first makes you tired and walking in your own strength. The
second keeps you from being useful to God. We cannot spend every moment of our
time on the mountain nor can we spend each minute working. As humans with created
bodies, we need rest with God. We need, as followers of Christ, time of revival in the presence of God, too. Physical
refreshment and spiritual revival are what we need. Without either of these, we
will be of limited use to and for God. Without out this balance, our desires
become selfish, either spending all our time serving and not giving it to the
Father or spending
all our time in His presence and none for His service to His created people. We
need a balance. To be our utmost for His highest, service and relationally, we
must each day be growing more like Him in worship and service. Paul said,
This is in keeping with my own eager
desire and persistent expectation and hope, that I shall not disgrace
myself nor be put to shame in anything; but that with the utmost freedom
of speech and unfailing courage, now as always heretofore, Christ (the Messiah) will be magnified and
get glory and praise in this body of mine and be boldly exalted
in my person, whether through (by) life or through (by) death. For me to live
is Christ, and to die is to gain the glory of eternity. If, however, it is
to be life in the flesh and I am to live on here, that means fruitful
service for me; so I can say nothing as to my personal preference. Philippians
1:20-22 (AMP)
What part of your life are you not giving your
utmost to Him for His service and glory?
