I believe God can move mountains, figuratively and literally. In Christian jargon, mountains often depict the looming problem that is preventing us from getting to the other side; that land of success and happiness we all long for. Faith leads us to prayerfully ask God to move the mountain. On Sunday in church we sang the song “Mighty to Save.” The chorus says, “Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save.” For the first time, I considered that I might be the mountain that needs to be moved.
In other words, perhaps I am so rooted in my current position that I am the biggest obstacle standing in my way. I do not like change very much. If one makes a suggestion after I complain, I am very likely to respond with a “yes, but..” Yes, getting up earlier so I can add some time to my day would be a good idea, but I’m so tired. Yes, writing a book is something I would love to do, but I’m so busy. Yes, I should exercise, but I don’t have the energy. I am a mountain in the way of my own improvement, of my spiritual growth, and often, of my happiness.
I believe that God can move mountains. I believe He can heal the sick and wounded, restore the alcoholic, and bring joy to the mourner. And while I can truly believe Him capable of all these things, I can still deny His power in my own life. I claim to be a mountain too big for Him to move. Moses stood before a talking bush on fire that did not burn up, and told God he stuttered so he could not be the man to go talk to Pharaoh. The rich man who had diligently kept all the commandments his whole life, “went away sad” when Jesus told him to sell his possessions to the poor.
When I pray for God to heal the ailing, help the needy, comfort the mourning, and protect the endangered, I do not doubt His ability to work that miracle. But when I pray for my own weaknesses (if I even pray about them at all), I have nagging doubts in my mind of whether it is even possible for me to become more patient, more organized, more thoughtful, more willing. Why does the mountain seem so much bigger when it is me? I suppose it is because I know myself and my limitations; my habits of being easily discouraged and distracted. That is who I am, but it is not who I am in Christ- “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).”
There are days where I feel like there is no power in me… and those are the days that I have given myself over to laziness and self-loathing, spending idle time with the devil. God does not often reveal His power in a person when they are warming the couch cushions. His power is revealed in those who start moving in His Name. A sledgehammer is not very powerful lying on the ground, but if you pick it up and start swinging, you reveal its capabilities.
God can move mountains, even if that mountain is me. I have some major moving to do in my life, but I will not be going anywhere without the power of God behind me. I can not continue to be the mountain in the way of God’s power in my life. How about you?