At the Foot of the Mountain

Deuteronomy 4:11-12 - "Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice."

I'm stuck in Deuteronomy, but it's good. Moses is reminding the people of Israel what the LORD has done for them. Account after account speaks of freedom, disobedience, forgiveness, freedom and more disobedience and forgiveness. Our God is always there. He waits for us to acknowledge Him that we might have freedom and forgiveness. Yet there sometimes still is disobedience. Through all these experiences we develop who we are in Christ. But there has to be a beginning, where we have seen the Lord and experienced His forgiveness and our freedom.

We are all to share the account of our conversion. It is our testimony, like Jesus testified throughout His life about who He was, where He came from, what power He had.

As I read the scriptures above my mind went directly to my conversion. There was a mountain looming in my life. It seemed immense and I was at my wits' end as to what I could do.

About the same time my sister in law asked me to meet her and the family at church the next day. I hesitated big time until she said something that instantaneously brought tears to my eyes. I didn't realize it at the time but they were the words of God...coming out of the fire of my dilemma.

I relented and went to church the next morning not realizing I would meet Jesus face to face, receive Him, and the rest would be history...or my testimony. I heard Him call me as I sat in that service. I could do nothing but respond to that call. It was a matter of life (spiritual) or death (natural). Oh, I wasn't considering ending my life, but my life did change in a very special way that day.

Since then I have sought the Word. I have continued to hear the Lord speak through His Word and in my spirit. Mysteries revealed, love shown, encouragement received, sin and conviction revealed. All for good.

Have I been 100% dedicated to the Lord? Sadly, no. Have I given up on Him? Gladly, no. If I stray a bit, it doesn't take long for Him to rein me in. I know where my help cometh from. I know who my Source is. I know what lies ahead. I know where my main focus and devotion are to be. I know where unconditional love comes from. I also know I am nothing without Jesus. Without Him there is lack of peace.

We follow an unseen yet powerful God. He proves this through His invasion of our consciences, His ability to show us in our spirits, not our minds, those things that hold us within His grasp. He bestows upon us that peace...that truly does pass all understanding. We must heed these things. In relationship with God we will have that ability.

One might be at the foot of a mountain. It might be illness, depression, a bad relationship, drugs, alcohol, etc., anything that causes distress. All one sees is a very high, intimidating mountain. But Jesus Christ can be our Way. He will lead you in the proper direction, help you up the mountain where all seems good again. Oh, be certain that not all days will be at the top. There are valleys we must go through. They are there to strengthen us. But remember, He is also there in the valley with us (Psalm 23) to be our Comfort.

When we submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ, He shows us what His covenant with us is, we hear His voice and are convicted of wrongdoing. He reminds us where we have been and where we are headed providing we stay focused on Him. Like Israel having been led out of Egypt, we have been led out of this world by Christ's call. We know the changes if we took the call to heart. He reveals it to us.

Deuteronomy 4:35 - "To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him."