Weekly Devotion - "Mountain Thinking" July 23, 2012

From GEMS area Trainer, Lenae Bulthuis

 

Let’s think together about our GEMS theme, Think Right: Win the Fight!

MOUNTAIN THINKING

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain,

for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 99:9

When was your most recent spiritual mountaintop experience? Was it at the 2012 GEMS Conference in Chicago? Maybe it was a personal spiritual retreat or a Sunday morning worship service.

On the heights our thoughts can be filled with wonder and worship, repentance and renewal, awe and obedience, surrender and trust. Our minds are renewed as we set our hearts and thoughts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1-2).

It’s been said that what goes up must come down. Maybe your mountain descent has been in dependence on God, each step surefooted in His Word and Spirit. Or maybe your decline has looked more like a downhill skiing wipe out – limbs one way, skis another, head dazed and buried in the snow. Stunned, you wonder: What’s wrong with me? How did that happen . . . again?

It can be messy and chaotic at the bottom of the mountain. When Moses descended Mount Sinai the Israelites were singing and dancing around a calf-shaped idol (Exodus 20, 32). When Elijah descended Mount Carmel he was running for his life, afraid, and praying that he might die (1 Kings 19). When Jesus and three of His disciples descended the mountain where He was transfigured, they met a desperate father of a demon-possessed son who was frustrated that Jesus’ disciples were unable to drive out the demon (Luke 9:28-43).

In the chaos, crashed at the foot of the mountain is the temptation for stinkin’ thinkin’:

·      Even when I try hard to live God’s way, I still mess up. I’ll never change. I quit.

·      God gave me another chance and then I blew it. Again. He’s going to give up on me.

·      There’s no way I can break free from these bad habits. I thought I could, but I can’t. It’s just who I am and always will be.

Idolatry, doubt, and despair are traps of the enemy. May we pray with the Psalmist, Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge (Psalm 31:4).

His grace is sufficient for you on the mountain peaks and the valley floor. Nothing can separate you from His love, neither height nor depth (Romans 8:38-39). Think on Truth at every elevation of your journey.

Think on it: Think about your spiritual journey. Identify stinkin’ thinkin’ thoughts and trade them in for Truth.

Don't let these precious hours of testing be a waste of time. You have some valleys to go through and mountains still to climb. And as I chart your progress and decide you've passed the test, then I'll erase your pain, my child, and give you needed rest.

Mariane Holbrook