Wednesday, August 12, 2020

“I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” (Mark 11:23 -24, New Living Translation) 

                It’s not always the mountain which is in the way that might block you; it’s the immovable huge boulders.

                For whatever reason, our house seemed randomly picked by the gas company to have a new gas meter and gas line installed into the house. They warned us way back in June. They showed up last week to begin the digging and installation. After an hour or so of  excavation at the side of the house, one of the workers came to the door to tell me that they had encountered a very, very large rock over the gas line somehow. How it got there, nobody seems to know. But it was in the way and they didn’t have the right equipment to dig it out. They would have to come back.

                They arrived yesterday with a backhoe and a small bulldozer. Guess what – they still couldn’t get the massive boulder out. Apparently, it is really, really big! Maybe not mountain size, but considerable. Maybe it was the peak of one for all I know.

What do you do when you face a large immovable object? Go around it. Makes sense.  Job done.

I am always challenged by Jesus’ words which, on first simplistic and superficial glance, suggests that if I just have enough faith, God will answer my prayers without question and without fail.  Even a mustard seed worth of faith might be adequate. I have encountered many sincere Christians who felt they have failed their loved ones, themselves and God, when based on these verses, their prayers were not answered as they had hoped. They despaired because they believed their faith was weak and inadequate. Mountains in the shape and size of illnesses, cancer, grief, hardships, depression, anxiety, fears, pandemics even, didn't slide off into the depths of the ocean and disappear forever.

Jesus is, of course, speaking metaphorically but nonetheless these are powerful verses to try and understand. Let’s immediately rule out that this is some sort of God’s blank cheque for us to fill out and for God to pay out.  People who might use this verse of enhancing their personal prosperity and welfare are out of line.

More to the point, prayer is our ability to join in communication with God and express to him our hearts, souls and minds; no conditions, no holds barred. “Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 -18, NLT) We can be assured that God listens. In his generous love God sends us the power to endure, to cope, to see beyond the “mountain”, enabling us to get through or even around what appears to be hopeless and we feel helpless

God’s power emerges in our ability to stand tall, face the problem and trust that, no matter what, God is a force to be reckoned with in any and every situation. Trust is the key here, trust that no matter what, God has not abandoned us or the people we love. God can work in the most dire of circumstances. The results may be different and difficult for us to understand or accept. Yet we can face and even conquer great challenges with God’s grace and love working in and through our most difficult moments.

    “The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level.                                                              The curves will be straightened,                                                                                                                   and the rough places made smooth.                                                                                                              And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.” (Luke 3:5-6, NLT)

Dale