For Every Mountain

We all have different reasons to praise God. It could be because of the birth of a new baby or receiving that long-awaited congratulatory email. But have you ever thought of thanking God for the mountains you face(d)? Imagine if your life was a constant straight line with no peaks or valleys. Would you consider that a life well lived? Without the mountains, there will be no way to know what we are capable of and how powerful we are. So why don’t we ever say: “God thank you for this mountain. I praise you because of the mountains ahead”. Mountains represent the challenges and obstacles we face in our daily lives and like our last post (Magnify the Lord!) instructed, we should be thankful for both the blessings and the mountains. Over the course of my life, I have faced challenges at different points. Some were big, others were small. Some lasted for a long time, others were over in the blink of an eye. Through these experiences, I’ve learnt two key lessons which I’ll be sharing below along with songs that have being a blessing to me.

The first lesson was that challenges were a way of drawing nearer to God, hearing His voice and building our trust in Him. At a much younger phase of my life, I had a very simple plan: enjoy all life has to offer and around age 40, re-dedicate my life to God and become serious about my Christianity. It took a mountain to completely rip up those plans and it was a financial challenge that lasted for a long time. While going over this mountain, I got closer to God. I learnt more about His ways and began to let go of my worldly ways. If I never faced this challenge, I may never have gotten serious about my Christianity. I stumbled on a song recently that speaks to this by Gaither Vocal Band- Sometimes it takes a mountain. The beauty about God’s mercy is that He is willing to receive you with open arms, just approach Him and let Him in (Heb. 4:16, Rev. 3:20). His love is so strong that He sent His son to die for you (John 3:16).

The second lesson I learnt was the importance of praising God during a challenge. It sounds strange saying we should praise God for the challenges. You’re not praising God because of the challenge; you’re praising Him despite the challenge and from a place of understanding. You’re praising Him because you know that victory is yours as His child and that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (I John 4:4). So, when you magnify the Lord like David did (Ps. 34), its because you understand that you should thank Him in all circumstances and that all things work together for your good (I Thes. 5:16-18, Rom. 8:28). There may be times when it feels like all hope is lost, simply remind yourself off all the other times He brought you out and the thoughts He has for you (Jer. 29:11). This song by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir- For Every Mountain, has being a blessing to me. It constantly reminds me to give God the praise for every mountain and trial I’ve faced.

Every word that is written in the bible is there for a purpose and every word spoken by Jesus was said for a reason. It is not for nothing that Jesus told us that we will have challenges in this world, but He also told us that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). There is absolutely no mountain that is too great for the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has never been and will never be defeated. If you find yourself facing a mountain or if you’re currently scaling a mountain, I charge you to draw closer to God and take on an attitude of praise. He has already sorted out the challenge!

 

P.S. Have a great Easter and remember, He is risen.

Here are a few of our Easter posts from years gone by:

2021- He is Risen: Rejoice!

2020- Hope: The Easter Message

2019- He is Risen

Photo cred: YouVersion