What's Your Mountain?

Have you ever hiked up a mountain or, if you live in Minnesota, a large hill?  Often times, there is more than one way to climb the mountain.  Some routes are easier and more tested than others; some are a bit more challenging and require more skill and more knowledge.  It’s that way in life too. 

We all have mountains in our lives that we face every day.  Some parts of our lives are easier than others; some days are easier than others. Then there are parts of our lives and periods of our lives that are more challenging.  Sometimes we face something that seems insurmountable and too hard for us to conquer.  It could be an illness, health-related issues, grief, loss of a job, addictions, loneliness, depression or any other type of problem in our lives when we find ourselves saying, “Where is God in this?”

A number of years ago, when I went through the deaths of both of my parents within a few months of each other, I felt like there was a huge mountain in front of me and I found myself asking that same question.  While I was in the wilderness of my despair looking for God and asking all those questions, a friend gave me a book by Ken Gire called The North Face of God.  He compared the pain and suffering we go through as a walk with God up the north side of Mount Everest. 

“Sometimes in the midst of suffering, God can seem distant, cold, and strangely silent—an Everest of indifference,” Gire says.  When we come to Him with our questions and doubts, sometimes it seems we are climbing the North Face of Mount Everest, scaling unstable rocks, unsure of our next step.  What we need to remember is that God is there in the climb with us – holding us tighter than ever before.  God is an expert mountain climber!  Even when we face those tough climbs in life, and we all do, He is with us no matter what. 

We need to remember God’s faithfulness to us in the past and His mercies that never cease.  Just as Jeremiah went through one adversity to another, he remembered.  We too are called to remember: 

“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:  The faithful love of the Lord never ends!  His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.  I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him.’ ”  (Lamentations 3:21-24)

I want us to dare to hope, just like Jeremiah, the author of Lamentations did.  Dare to hope!  I know many of you are going through some tough challenges in life right now and feel as if you are not going to make it.  Through God, we have a fresh hope every day.  Nothing can separate us from His love and nothing can rob us of our hope in Him.  Hope is found simply by remembering His faithfulness to us in the past and never letting go of God’s promises to us.

Here’s a song by Third Day called "The Mountain of God" that reminds us that God is faithful and His mercies are never ending. 

In His Grip!

Pastor Carol