If you had been with me and my mate Steve, you would have had a good laugh as you watched me puffing and panting, red in the face, as my little legs pedalled up a massive hill on the side of a mountain on my new mountain bike.
Steve was adamant that the climb would be worthwhile. He said, ‘Once we get to the top, we will have a long way down at a good speed, and there will be a few tracks to choose from when we get there. But when we are at the top, we will have better view of it all and be able to choose the right lane for us to travel further’. So I stuck it out, puffing and panting, and I made my way to the top.
I don’t know about you, but in life I have faced many mountains in the form of struggles and battles that this life sometimes throws at you. And at times I have walked around many mountains, avoiding the struggle, and even stood in faith, praying for God to remove the mountain (Matthew 17:20), and sometimes the mountains still remained.
But it was in these times, when they still remained, that I learned my most valuable lessons in life, when I faced my mountains head-on!
Going back to my first-time mountain biking with Steve: I learned that if I wanted to experience the fullness of mountain biking, I would have to be disciplined and work hard to get up the hill. And once I got to the top I would gain a greater perspective, being able to choose the right direction to go in and gaining the most momentum, so I could travel to just where I needed to be.
And this is the same for us in life!
Sometimes we need to experience the struggle on our way to the summit, because there are things to be learned so that we can go further in life. This is what I learned: the depth of your discipline will often determine the height of your destination, and a higher destination means gaining a better perspective and gaining greater momentum in life.
Some mountains were never made to be moved. And if you gain the right perspective, instead of mountains being stumbling blocks they can become steppingstones onto the right track in life and into your future.
Moses understood the importance of going up the mountain with God (Exodus 19: 1-6).
He climbed the mountain to be with God (through discipline), where he was given instructions (and acquired perspective) so that he and his people could be on the right track and gain the most momentum in the future that God had set out for them.
Mountains produce momentum.
David
David Taylor is a former drug addict, who is now an evangelist. David is part of the Revive Network and he heads up Emerge Ministries.