While Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: …”
Exodus 19:3
In the Scriptures, the “mountain” is often the place where God reveals himself and his will to a person. Following such a revelation, the person was to go down the mountain and begin to implement God’s revealed plan. Such was the case with the man Moses. God revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. In that revelation, God gave to his servant his holy Law, which in turn was to be delivered to the people in the valley.
What we do after our experiences on the Mount will determine our life in the valley. God brings us near to himself through the preached or read Word of God. We see his truth; the Spirit of God reveals to us a course of action we should take. As we delight in the wonderful truth and presence of God, we aspire to do his will. What happens next? We descend the mountain, (leaving a church service, or concluding our quiet time with the Lord). We walk out into life’s plains and valleys forgetting and failing to follow through with what the Spirit revealed to us on the mountain. Thus, we return to our idols, our disobedience, our neglect, our powerlessness.
Three disciples once came down from a mountain one day after experiencing a wonderful revelation of the Lord Jesus. However, when they returned to the valley, they were powerless. They were powerless because they failed to translate their time with Jesus into actions of faith.
Let us be careful what we do after God reveals himself to us. See to it that you fulfill your tasks “through hours of gloom.” Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) said it well:
We cannot kindle when we will
The fire that in the heart resides,
The Spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides;
But tasks, in hours of insight willed,
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.*
*“We Cannot Kindle When We Will” by Matthew Arnold.
Taken from . . .
Renewed by the Spirit: 365 Daily Meditations
by Ralph I. Tilley
copyright © 2016 Ralph I. Tilley
(May be copied for noncommercial purposes,
not to exceed 500 copies.)