The Journey Continues: the Mountaintop Experience
"The mountains are calling and I must go." John Muir
Mountains have always been a draw to me. Perhaps it is because as a child and youth I lived in Glendale, a suburb of LA that is backed up by (or in our case, surrounded by) the Verdugo Mountains, which are the "front range" of the San Gabriel Mountains behind them. Of course, as a child and youth I did not appreciate them as I do now. But my brothers and I recently met at our parent's and grandparent's gravesites, which are in a cemetery with a commanding view of the mountains above Altadena and Pasadena. And I realized how much I missed them.
Sometimes we forget that scripture is peppered with passages and verses that highlight the importance of mountains. We tend to think of the Israelites wandering through the desert for 40 years, or Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness before He started His ministry. We think of the Holy Land and our imagery is that of a dry place.
But the mountains played a very important role in God's relationship with the Israelites, and with Christ Himself:
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." - Psalm 121:1-2, KJV
"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Luke 6:12, KJV
We, too, have a relationship with mountains. For many of us, they are a cool place to retreat to in the heat of summer. They are a place we recreate by fishing their creeks or lakes, or hiking their numerous trails. Or they call to us in their white winter garments to ski and build snowmen. They are also a place where we can re-create ourselves, much like Jesus did. Well-known places like Forest Home in the San Bernardino Mountains, or Hume Lake in the Sierra Nevada, are places where the Word of God is shared, preached and lived.
We also speak of Mountaintop Experiences, times in our spiritual lives when we feel an excitement and closeness to God, often literally on a mountaintop or (in my case) a granite outcropping used by the youth summer church camp that I attended when I was 13 years old.
The challenge with the Mountaintop Experience is that it can fade when we return to our daily lives - the "valleys". The lessons learned while gazing at the stars and listening to someone tell us of the dynamic Love of God are subjected to the noise of our lives.
One thing I have learned about myself and that I strive to apply to all aspects of my life is that I cannot force things to happen: I cannot recreate the Mountaintop Experience. And when we try to make those mountaintop experiences happen by manufacturing them, the experience itself is not authentic.
But when we allow those things to come into our lives, when we don't try to make them happen, the experiences are more authentic. By being open to The Spirit, we allow God to move in our lives. He creates the Mountaintop Experience that is even more authentic than the feelings we get on a granite outcropping when we were 13 years old. This trust in God, this openness to His guidance, is stated beautifully in Proverbs 3:5-6:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV
Do not lean on our understanding: do not try to manufacture the Mountaintop Experience. But allow God to lead us on paths that bathe us in His Love, and elevate us to the REAL Mountaintop Experience: oneness with Him.
Soli Deo Gloria
Photo: Mt. Sneffels, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, October 1997, c John Prothero 2022
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