As you may be able to guess by the video, I not only troll YouTube for new praise and worship music, but I also take time for a few clean laughs. The video only vaguely has a connection to today’s post, but I thought it was funny so I decided to share. The comedians refer to valleys and deserts as though they’re a bad thing or a hardship. Many people in Christian circles include mountains, which might explain the vagueness in the connection. I can’t help but notice that many relate these (valleys, deserts, mountains, etc.) to being negatives, but are they? Really? I know that there are genuine hardships, both physical and spiritual, that are experienced, but I want to look at another type of mountain. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so vague.
There are popular quotes out there in regards to mountains from a Christian perspective. “Faith can move mountains.” (Matthew 17:20) “Tell your mountain about your God.” I definitely agree with standing on the promises God has made to us instead of spewing the woe-is-me verbiage. Another lesser-known quote is from an Old Testament story involving Joshua and Caleb: “Give me this mountain!” (Joshua 14:6-14) Caleb says this and I can’t help but get chills because of his faith and wonder if he was on crack all at the same time. Who in their ever-loving mind wants a mountain (Figuratively speaking, of course)? Goes back to what we consider a mountain.
As we were preparing to move from Alaska to North Carolina, there were a lot of details – from minor to major. Finding a trailer and a truck to pull it, sorting what would go in storage and what would be on the trailer, arranging the legal documents required for travel through Canada during a “pandemic”… you know, the usual. Moving can bring about a lot of stressful moments, but this move was absolutely orchestrated by God. Some of it I was able to see in the moment, and other parts I can see now than I’m on the other side of it.
One example out of many happened a couple months before the move. We were shopping for a truck and trailer and had some specifics in mind. One important detail was the size of the trailer. We finally found one that was pretty close to what we were willing to spend, so my husband arranged to go take a look at it right away. He made sure he had the cash in hand and was about to leave. In passing each other in the doorway, we quickly prayed a very simple prayer that went something like this: “God, if it’s for us, open the door. If not, shut it.” God shut the door before my husband was 5 minutes down the road. This could have been considered a mountain. This could have been a discouragement. Instead, we just shrugged and trusted that God did what we had asked Him to do: He shut the door.
There’s quite a bit out there about God being a “last minute God.” My personal experiences call bologna on that line of believing, but I can understand why many hold tight to it. If it takes someone till the last minute to throw their hands up in defeat – their own human-abilities-defeat – then they’ve finally gotten out of God’s way. How often do we know that we know that we know what is best for us only to find out that God has something so much better? There are times that the so-much-better involves what we initially see as a mountain. God didn’t wait till the last minute with a trailer, but provided a better avenue for us to move – less of a financial burden than we were originally prepared for.
We’re in the thick of house-hunting, a stress-inducing time for many out there (especially when looking to buy in a seller’s market), and have brought the kiddos in on how we operate. We want them to not only be part of it because we want to hear what’s important to them (one wants to have everything pink, another wants a fort, and another wants her own room), but we also want them to witness God at work in our lives. We want them to see with their own eyes how God cares about the little things. We made a list of all the boxes we want to have checked and then prayed about it as a family. We did what we did before with the trailer: every time we’ve gone to look at a house, we’ve prayed that God would either throw the door open or slam it shut. This is where so many people see “No” as a mountain. This is where I see “No” as a promise.
When Caleb demands that the mountain be given to him, his passion stems from his faith in God making good on His promises. He demands the literal and figurative mountain to be given to him just as was promised to him. I know it’s long, but take a look:
“Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.” And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.” Joshua 14:6-13 (NKJV)
Something also to take note of is the passage of time from when Caleb was promised the land of Hebron and his receiving it. A whopping 45 years! It’s difficult for most to be patient 45 minutes, let alone 45 years. During the 45 years, Caleb’s health didn’t suffer – he was ready for war in order to remove the squatters that were in Hebron. He also prospered in his family – a daughter is mentioned in the next chapter (Joshua 15:16-19). And don’t you know it! Caleb drove out the squatters (Joshua 15:13-15)! This tells me that Caleb was either a really awesome soldier to do something like that alone, or his household prospered so much over the course of those 45 years that he had plenty of people to fight alongside him (servants, sons, etc.). Do you see the beauty in the waiting?
God didn’t wait 45 years to prosper Caleb. Between the promise being made and fulfilled, Caleb prospered. While I don’t believe that God is going to have us rent for 45 years, I’m very excited to see how He uses this time in-between to prosper us. I’m excited just in knowing that the house God has for us is so much better than the houses we’ve looked at for reasons we may or may not ever know. We’ve allowed Him to position us for receiving our mountain. A mountain that will prosper us… a mountain that will bless us to be a blessing.
I can’t help but be grateful for the mountains because of what they represent: God always keeps His promises. Start seeing God’s promises instead of the mountains – see the ways He prepares you in the time in-between… and watch His goodness unfold in beautiful, unimaginable ways.