TALKING to Your Mountain
Keep your eye ON the mountain – sometimes you need to tell that mountain it will NOT take you down or defeat you. Sitting on the lanai outside our lovely condo bedroom in Kauai, Hawaii, this past summer, I was captured in the moment of such an unforgettable view of majesty and beauty. The tall mountains were being visited by some passing rain clouds and the sun was brightening up the landscape.
I was reading Acts 4 and deep in the drama of Peter and John. They were put into prison for doing the work of Jesus and healing a 40 year old crippled man (he had been crippled from birth). My eyes looked up from the words I was reading to take in this dramatic, historic event and picture how the priests were so unsettled by the healing. Yet, all the people around were praising God for this miracle. I can picture the priests looking at each other with a look that whispers, “What do we do here, guys? Everyone loves this Jesus and his buddies; gotta admit, it is pretty cool what is happening.”
While I am snickering at the picture of this ordeal, my eyes looked up from the pages of this account to see something I didn’t know how to describe. There it was, I saw probably the most breathtaking and stunning sight I have ever seen in my first 50 years!!! Those tall mountains in front of me with giant palm trees and other gloriously green vegetation had the most picturesque visitor in their setting! There was a wide, colorful rainbow against the mountains, stretching from the palm trees up to the sky. This was no ordinary rainbow!! I jumped up from my chair and stared, and then I ran around the condo calling for everyone to come see it. “Hey you guys! Come here right away! You have to see this! It’s so beautiful … hurry … the most beautiful thing ever you have seen!!”
I was literally shaking!!! My body was experiencing this sight of God’s promise – the rainbow that God created as a covenant between He and the people, a promise to never flood the earth again. (Genesis 9:12-17) When everyone came to the lanai to see this sight, it was nearly gone… vanished! I think I shrunk to about two inches tall in shame of missing a longer moment with my new friend, the Kauai Rainbow. But, I wanted everyone in my family to experience what I just witnessed!
The rainbow is full of color and bends from one part of the earth to another, reaching out to us. It represents hope. I remember when my Dad died and how my Mom would see a rainbow as her hope of moving into a new season with God as her helper and guide. She even started a support group at our church for grieving children with “Rainbows for ALL Children.” When she later became a Camp Nurse in the summers, her nickname was “Rainbows”! My children fondly call her, “Grandma Rainbows”; she continues to see this beautiful artwork by God as the peace of knowing He is with her in all the hard times of life; what a gift to pass onto her grandchildren.
Do you see why I say, “Don’t take your eyes OFF of the mountain?” Did you notice how I jumped from the “beautiful and once in a lifetime sight”? Sometimes, we need to keep our eyes ON our “mountain”. Mountains can represent many things to people, some of which are the most complex and difficult obstacles and struggles. Even in the Bible, Jesus says “speak to the mountain.”
back you up.
All this mountain talk reminded me of a time I spent with a woman who mentored me spiritually in my prayer life, also named Julie. She taught me to boldly SPEAK words of affirmation and words from the Bible. Speak TO my problems, fears, worries, and tell them what to do, not allowing them to dictate my outlook and attitude.
Putting it into practice: I have a very personal story to share of how I once got over a gripping fear I had. So gripping, that I felt hostage to the fear. Early in our marriage, Kurt worked evening shifts at his job. I was home alone through the night and would check several times that the doors were locked. Oddly, it went beyond doors. I actually would look in closets and underneath beds to be sure all was safe. I had never experienced something so unusual before, and the fear kept growing. One night was so bad that I thought I heard something outside the bedroom window. And what did I do? I got into my car and drove away to call my husband from a payphone (no cell phones). Now, how was that a safe idea?! It wasn’t even rational! If there was someone outside of the house, they could have jumped into my car!
I hated how terrified I felt and the constant “checking” the house for safety. What was I expecting to find, anyway? IF there was a crazy guy in a closet, was I prepared to kick him and karate chop him on the head or in the gut? Somehow, I traced this unusual behavior to my days of watching horror films with my sister Tammy. We searched the shelves at the video store for movies based on the length of the film: the longer the minutes, the better the movie! That was our own “rule”. We watched so many scary movies and loved it! However, I think many of those scenes came back to haunt me. I do not watch those anymore! And I think Tam gave up on them long ago, too.
Through help and guidance from some wonderful spiritual mentors, I began to move this scary “mountain” out of my life. My friend, Gloria, suggested I read the book: The Tongue, A Creative Force, by Charles Capps. In the back of the book are Bible verses to read out loud in times of need (financial, physical, emotional, etc.). I am warning you here; I began to take position and battle the fear that consumed me. Each night instead of checking things in closets or beds, I spoke faith-filled scripture verses TO the “mountain”. I spoke loudly and demanded that fear be moved from me. I was not going to be ruled by some invisible and irrational feeling any longer. The conclusion of this story: GOD moved that mountain for me! I praise GOD for freeing me from that fear.
But, seriously, nothing changed for me until I began to FACE the mountain and take ACTION towards eliminating it.
Who cares if it didn’t get resolved in 2019 or when you’ll do it in 2020. Don’t put a date on it. Just take action DAILY towards facing it and conquering it. My friend Gloria faced mountains and has written a book about one of them: Stuff Happens: HOPE Anyway, by Gloria Brintnall. I highly recommend her book.
Go forth and conquer your mountains!
You got this!!
Mark 11:23 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”
Mark 11:23-25 The Message (MSG)
“Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.”
