Mountain Moving God
They stood and sang with such convincing passion and confidence. They were not strangers to our church, but actually a part of the family. They led worship many times throughout the years and always on this last day of the year. But something was different this time. Their faith had grown and it was contagious. It hung around like a sweet perfume and actually permeated the atmosphere. It is a faith that is being tried and proven true.
There they stood and declared their faith in a mountain moving God. Who could deny it? They awaken every morning staring at a literal Oregon mountain. Whether it shows itself mighty and real that day or not, they KNOW it is there. Early mornings take them a short distance to their daughter and son in law’s house where they face yet another mountain. Their daughter has a major brain tumor and things aren’t looking too good in the natural, except they believe in a Sovereign God who can move mountains.
The sudden twist in their story had changed something. Their desperation for healing for their daughter had birthed in them a greater faith in their God. They still proclaimed the same faithfulness of the Lord as when I first met them. It was a different song, different notes, but the same message. Their faith is like the undeniable mountain that is sometimes hidden, but they KNOW that He is there and working out His good plan. It is not what our eyes see but what our hearts believe. This is what we must fix our eyes upon.
“So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:19 (NLT)
As the Stanley’s helped us say goodbye to one year and welcome to the new, the desire in my heart arose to join them in a faith so much bigger than anything I can comprehend. No matter what twists and surprises come this year, I want to declare the faithfulness of my God. A faith that believes God is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do. A faith in God who is more sure and unchangeable than Mount Hood. A growing faith in God that KNOWS He has never failed me and never will.
I was blessed to spend a secluded day with Kim. There was no stage and no microphone, but her faith was the same. Hidden away in a quiet room, we talked of the reality of their new normal and I saw and heard the same contagious faith that she and Joe sang of on Sunday morning. I didn’t return home with sadness or heaviness, but thankfulness that I serve the same mountain moving God and am proud to be a part of the same faith-family as the Stanley’s.
"Lord, give us the grace to walk in greater faith this New Year.
Make us courageous to scale any mountain you place in front of us knowing that it is your faith, not our own. As we set our eyes on you and stand on your word, we will declare your goodness! Whether we sing your praises loud before a crowd or in a secret corner with one or two, may our faith be the same…tried, true, contagious…
expecting you to be a Mountain Moving God."