From the Desert to the Mountain

My trip from the Desert to the mountain was very different than that of Moses’ yet it had some distinct similarities.  First off I was not given Quail and Manna to eat every day, though I would not have minded the Quail for sure.  I also did not have to get water from a rock, I got to use a moving truck and it took more like a year not 40 years.  Our trips were similar in a couple of ways though.  One I went from the desert to the mountain top and it was a great leap of faith for my family and I to do so. 

When we are faced with challenges people often say, “I don’t have that kind of faith.”  I am not a faith walker like you, like Moses, I cannot just trust God to do everything, I have to be involved.   When Moses got involved, he got in trouble.  When I got involved, I got in trouble.  Moses was allowed to stand on the mountain top and see the valley I was allowed to stand on the mountain top and move on into the valley.  It was neither an easy nor a short journey. 

I worked too long for a roofing company that I should not have.   I felt, I needed the security of a paycheck.   It was not until I gave up the idea that a paycheck was security and adopted the belief that God is the only security I need.  That is when God went to work in my life and began putting before me the challenges that would forever change my life to work for Him.  We can’t see Gods plan for us when we keep looking through the glasses of the world.  Those glasses filter out God. 

Moses did not have these filters but the Israelites did.  This is why they were continually pushed and challenged to remove these calluses from their eyes and only trust in God.  The Israelites continually are concerned with things of the world; food, water, land, images of God, and rules.  Are we any different today?  We are constantly worried about how food affects us, is the water I drink the best, we build fences around our land, and images of God…just pick one, American Idol, CSI, any TV show, Movie, actors, vehicles, houses, hobbies come to mind.  We constantly look for images of gods to distract us from Him.  Finally we come to rules.  We all search out rules to define who we are, who we think you are, who belongs, who does not belong.  There are some out there who search out rules only to break them and some who are so bent on keeping them to the very last letter that they miss out on God’s greatest gift. 

We live by faith every day.  Sometimes it is faith in others and when they fail, we get hurt.  Sometimes it is faith in ourselves and when we fail, we hit rock bottom.  When we put that faith in God and really begin to listen to him and trust what he is doing in our lives we can make it to the mountain.  We can see something that others cannot.  We can see the promise of a better future.   A future in a land of milk and honey.  What must it have been like, for Moses to look down on that valley?  I can tell you from experience.  It is Joy, Peace, Jubilation, Tears, Passion, Energy, and Rest all at the same time.  To know that you have listened and you are allowing Him to run your life is such a relief.  From the desert to the mountain is a hard, long journey but the payoff in the end is priceless.