Be Removed, Mountain

There’s something wild about mountains. As I write this, I’m sitting at the top of Pike’s Peak. At this height of 14,110 feet, very little vegetation can live. Coming off a warm summer, there is still ice and snow at the peak. The only thing here is thin air, rock, and dirt.What makes an ascent like this worth the effort? The view along the way is gorgeous, yes, but many folks find themselves dizzy at the top. Many find themselves almost going over the edge of the roads on the way up and down. Brakes fail with constant use, engines overheat due to pressure changes and the effect of that on radiators, and a lot of folks get to the top to realize that they’re flat out dizzy from the thin air and can’t handle it.

It’s the view that makes trips like this worth it. It’s the perspective. Pike himself said when he was at the base of this mountain in 1806 that it seemed no man could ascend this mountain. And yet the mountain has been conquered, and every year thousands of folks drive to the top of Pike’s Peak, making it the most visited mountain in the United States. Fill up with gas, pay your ten dollars, and you’ll make it up the mountain. This is an easy mountain to defeat thanks to road graders, gravel, and cars.

There are still mountains out there that man has to work to defeat. From McKinley to Everest to certain mountains in the Alps (I’m away from my reference materials as I write this on top of Pike’s Peak), there are mountains that we’ve not put the effort into building roads on. And that’s fine, keep the challenge there for the real mountaineers.

We have mountains in our lives, figuratively speaking. If you’re honest with yourselves, how many mountains have you defeated? You might have made it to the top of the mountain of eliminating debt, seeing your marriage restored when you thought it was beyond repair, getting a degree or some type licensing that was difficult. You might also have mountains that you’re at the base of right now. You echo Pike, and say “There is no way I can make it to the top. The mountain has conquered me!”

Jesus once told his disciples that if they spoke to a mountain, they could tell it to be into the sea, and that it would be removed from where it is. God is all about you defeating your mountains! The fact is, if you’re at the base of your mountain and you’re not doing anything about it, if you’re not asking for the gift of faith and the gift of ACTION to defeat your mountains, to cast them into the sea, you have a clear mandate from God to do so. And as you go up your mountain, you’re building a highway for others to follow you on. Your experiences are a God gift to be used in helping others.

So get going! Stop being a pussy and climb that mountain