The Mountaintop Experience

Have you seen those ads where a climber reaches the peak of a great precipice and stands with arms outstretched as the camera pans around them? While I don’t harbor a fear of heights, if I were exhausted from climbing to the top of that mountain, I don’t think I would balance precariously on a jagged peak. Just sayin’.

The mountaintop experiences I savor are those I share with God, and I needn’t climb to places of thin oxygen to find Him. Mountaintop experiences can happen anywhere, and have more to do with my heart’s proximity to God’s than with where I am.

These intense feelings of joy and peace saturate my spirit, and I can’t help but smile and sometimes weep at the beauty of the moment. Feeling so connected to my Creator, in oneness of thought and pure joy, is exhilarating and peaceful all at the same time.

But I’ve come to realize I couldn’t enjoy these peak experiences if I hadn’t first walked through the deepest valleys. Because it is through the valleys of pain and sorrow where I met my Savior, or rather where He met me.

There have been times when I’ve been at my lowest, when my spirit was dark and my outlook on life even darker, and I couldn’t find any hope to start my day. It was from this deep valley of darkness that I was saved from my situation and from my own dark thoughts by the only One who could save me.

I cried out to God and He whispered into my darkness that I was not alone. That comfort helped me begin to find my way out of the pit of darkness. In my deepest sorrow, a voice spoke softly to my spirit “I am with you.” This ray of Hope shined like a beacon of Light leading the way out of the darkness. “Follow Me.”

I savor my mountaintop experiences with God, in pure joy and oneness of Spirit. Though these may be ephemeral moments, I treasure them knowing how far I have come to know this joy in my life through my relationship with God. I would not have reached these peaks had I not first walked the valleys. And through them I learned that I never walk alone.

"Even when I walk 

  through the darkest valley,

 I will not be afraid, 

  for you are close beside me."
           Psalm 23:4 (NLT)

Music speaks to my soul, and Mac Powell of Third Day shares my thoughts beautifully through this song, "Mountain of God." Subscribers please enjoy this video by clicking here.

Resisting Temptation

Temptation. We deal with it every day. What is your temptation? Is it the sweet or fattening food that you are trying to avoid to fulfill a resolution for the new year? Do you struggle with an addiction? You certainly are not alone.

We are all drawn to the feel-good attractions in life. Our spirits crave joy, and we think we can find that joy in the momentary pleasures from a myriad of choices. But when we look to consumption for our satisfaction, we realize it is only a matter of time until we need another “fix” to make us feel good again.

It becomes a cycle. A cycle of addiction to something that will never satisfy the craving within us. It just keeps coming back, taking more and more of our time and our life. It’s time to break the cycle.

Ah, but this is so much more easily said than done. We want a good, healthy lifestyle but we struggle with all that we are “supposed” to do to keep ourselves well. It is so hard to stay on track to meet our goals for self-improvement.

Do you realize some people are actually addicted to exercise? Can this be a bad thing too? I think anything in excess is more than we were meant to do. Too much work, too much food, or turning to drugs and alcohol to quiet our minds only numbs us to what we really crave.

Deep inside we all crave peace. And joy. Belonging. Relationship. It is easier to reach for temporary satisfaction outside of ourselves than to realize that our desires run deeper than momentary satisfaction. Sometimes we hide ourselves in work or busyness to avoid dealing with internal issues we want to avoid. But we were meant for so much more.

I believe that the One who created us set inside of us a deep longing which causes us to become searchers, seeking something that will fulfill that desire within us. Some people search outside of themselves, and some search within for fulfillment.

I think the longing that we feel is a desire to connect with our Maker. I believe we are preprogrammed to want relationship with our Creator. Our belief in a Higher Power predisposes us to crave relationship with Him. It is through knowing our Maker intimately that we begin to feel our place in this world.

It may be hard for you to believe that a relationship with God can cure your addictions to the things of this life, but I know this to be true. Here are words of a song that has yet to be finished:

“You’ve got to give it all to God.

You’ve got to have the love and faith to see it through.

You’ve got to give it all you’ve got -

Enough to let it go.”                            

                                                                ~Colleen Reske

Don't expect your addiction to be cured in a flash of lightning. It takes time to build a relationship and time to understand what drew you to your need in the first place. Giving it all to God opens you up to the healing powers of the universe. All that is available to you for recovery is out there. You need to seek wellness with the same desire as you sought solace through substances. You need to earnestly seek God for help in getting well. 

It is very freeing to “give it all away”, to give it all to God. When you do, you start to develop trust, believing that there is a better way which God will show you. You have to be receptive to hearing suggestions from those people that God will put in your path, and you have to want to get well. 

There is hope for health, and freedom from whatever binds you. You have to take the first step by admitting your weakness, and cry out to God for help. Our God is all-powerful, and He can use that power on your behalf. All it takes is belief, and a desire to know the One who knows all.

The hope in finding help begins with prayer.  We can't do this all on our own, but there is hope and there is help if you want to find it. Blessings on your journey.

Third Day performing "Cry Out to Jesus", especially for my Christian viewers though this powerful message is for all. Email subscribers click here to view the video on my blog. 

  

The Dawning of the Old Year - Time to Let Go

There have been year's end when I couldn’t wait for the new one to begin. Recent years, where so much begged to be left behind and a new year seemed the perfect opportunity to begin again. Joy and anticipation filled me with hope that I would begin anew, leaving the pain of past days behind me like closing a door and walking away.

I am blessed with a perpetually optimistic approach to life. My glass is usually half to almost full. So when these days, like today, dawn with clarity but less than optimistic ideals, I wonder what happened to deflate my balloon.

It is a reality that all days are not sunshine and roses, and the gloom of yesterday’s rain left me in a fog that confined me to warm covers of my room. In the middle of the night, awoken by my old, hungry cat (this is a nightly routine), looking out into the night sky I saw the brightest of stars right outside my window.

Thinking it was merely a reflection from some light inside, a closer look revealed that the clouds had indeed cleared and the stars were so close I could reach out to touch them, or so it seemed. Orion loomed immense on the western horizon, his feet almost standing in the level of the marsh. It was so beautiful I was tempted to don my winter coat and hat and go for a walk at 3 a.m. But that’s crazy talk in December in Wisconsin, even with a winter as mild as ours has been so far.

After hours of tossing and turning, sleep found me again. And now it is the morning of the last day of this year. I am not sad, but neither am I filled with anticipation at what lies ahead. Out with the old, and in with the new. Promises to myself to eat better, exercise daily, finally clean off my desk… these are nothing new and hold no real strength for diving into a new year with hope.

Why do I not feel that boost of energy, of anticipation? What do I need to jump start my new year with a feeling of hope, anticipation and joy?

Perhaps this is how others feel; people who do not ride on the highs and the lows of life like I do, but who keep a more steady flow in their lives. It isn’t a bad feeling, it just is not me.

Ah, the clouds are clearing and the sun slants across the grass still showing green at year’s end. The wind is low, and the temperature beckons a walk outside to breathe and to pray. As always, I will put my hope in the One who has a plan that I cannot see. I will trust that His love will guide me through all of my days and nights to come. And I know I will feel joy, love, hope, pain and suffering in this year. That is life. But I will hold tight to the love that never fails, never changes, and is always new for me each day – the love of my Savior.

  

Though I live on the ebb and flow of my emotions, the one constant I have come to know is the steadfast love of God in my life. I am thankful for this buoy to hold onto when I am floundering in vast seas of uncertainty. He keeps me afloat, and presses me onward to fight the good fight. I’m smiling now, the sun grows stronger and I realize my strength comes from beyond this earthly place. Hold onto hope. The Light is your beacon, too. He will guide you on the path of your future. Big smiles now. I’m going outside to greet the day.

Here are some of my favorite Bible verses to bring us hope for the new year and beyond:

           

God has a good plan for you …   “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

God is always faithful …   “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23

God is always the same …   “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

God’s love endures ….   “For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”   Psalm 100:5

                “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107


All verses taken from the New Living Translation

Practice What You Preach

It would be wonderful if we could always live exactly the way we know we should. We strive to be good people and share our love with our families and the world. I am certain we achieve great success with that, for sharing love is as easy as sharing a smile with a stranger, lending a helping hand when someone needs one to open a door or traverse a large step, or giving a listening ear when a friend is in need.

 I think it is much easier to live the way I know I should when there is peace in my heart and a smile on my face. It’s when the dark clouds of anger or frustration blow in that it is harder to remain calm and keep my perspective.

I wish that I could say that I never think a bad thought or utter an ugly word, but in my humanness, though I strive for perfection it really is unattainable. We can try to live a life of gentleness and peace, and for the most part we can succeed, with practice and through prayer. But when those storms of life blow in that challenge us to the core, it is often difficult to retain our composure and to be the people we wish we could be.

We are human, and though we may strive to live in the manner of perfection it truly is a goal we will never reach. We will fall short, and afterward wish we had the perspective of hindsight before we lost our cool.

We are emotional beings, fraught with intense feelings that are challenging to control. It is so  easy to simply react to a situation, when it might be better to take a moment to breathe and think and perhaps provide a more helpful response. And it isn’t only our own emotions we must deal with. When we face the complex people in our lives sometimes even as we pause to breathe they explode in their emotions and our natural reaction is to fight the assault!

There are times when we wish we could take back what we have said. And there are times when we never should have opened our mouths in the first place, such as when a conversation somehow slips too near to gossip. We realize later that we should have changed the topic rather than adding our opinion, and we are filled with regret at the things we said.

The most frustrating part is when we live most of the time as a good example of Christian living and then we “blow it” by cursing in public or saying or doing something that is outside of our character. Believe me, there will be somebody who sees or hears and questions our actions.

Christians strive to live by the fruits of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. That’s a tall order for us humans! While we may succeed at living our lives with most of these attributes most of the time, we will fail to live by all of them all of the time.

What is important for us to remember is to keep trying. If we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, through knowing Christ and living the Christian doctrine of loving one another, we already experience many of these wonderful attributes in our lives. Gradually we will work towards gaining the ones that are hardest for us to acquire.

When we feel we have missed our mark, it does no good to wallow in our failure. We are humans and we will make mistakes. Through this we learn of our weaknesses and frailties and understand the areas we need to put our efforts into improving.

Everyone makes mistakes. It’s even more difficult when the world is watching and expecting certain behaviors from us. But don’t let that deter you from living a life in the Spirit. The benefits far outweigh the falls.

In striving to live by the fruits of the Spirit, we will be encouraged as we sense these gifts in our own lives. And as we live by sharing these gifts with others, we may help them grow in their faith as well. You never know how far an act of kindness may reach.