Exodus 3:12 NIV
“When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God on this mountain.”
What is it about mountains? From below they can be either a daunting challenge or else just part of a beautiful view, but once you’re at the top everything seems different.
On a trip into Slovakia we once visited the High Tatras. There we took a cable-car up onto Lomnicky Stit, the second highest peak. Below us in the valley the city of Poprad and other towns and villages were spread out like a map. It was a wonderful view.
When you look down from the top of a mountain, everything seems somehow simpler and in order. Seeing problems from above, rather than looking up to them from beneath, puts them into their proper perspective. No wonder the Bible has so much to say about mountains. We know that Heaven isn’t actually “up there” in a physical sense, but it’s still easy to feel closer to God at the top of a mountain.
There are other ways to climb a mountain than visiting a mountainous country. We can climb in the spirit, through Bible-reading and prayer, concentrating on the way up until we start to see things from God’s perspective. Then our problems get back into order – and we can begin to enjoy the wonderful view!
Prayer: Dear Father, show me how I can climb Your holy mountain so that I can worship You there! Amen.
