Can You Come Down From the Mountain?

By Oswald Chambers, adapted by Sarah Counts

“While you have the light, believe in the light…” —John 12:36

We all have moments when we feel better than we ever have before, and we say, “I feel ready for anything; if only I could always be like this!” We are not meant to be! Those moments are moments of insight which we have to live up to even when we do not feel like it. Many of us are no good for the everyday world when we are not on the mountaintop. Yet, we must bring our everyday life up to the standard revealed to us on the mountaintop when we were there.

Never allow a feeling that was awakened in you on the mountaintop to fade away. Don’t place yourself on the shelf by thinking, “How great to be in such a wonderful state of mind!” Act immediately— do something, even if your only reason to act is that you would rather not. If, during a prayer meeting, God shows you something to do, don’t say, “I’ll do it”— just do it! Pick yourself up by the back of the neck and shake off your fleshly laziness. Laziness can always be seen in our cravings for a mountaintop experience; all we talk about is our planning for our time on the mountain. We must learn to live in the ordinary “gray” day according to what we saw on the mountain.

Don’t give up because you have been blocked and confused once— go after it again. Burn your bridges behind you, and stand committed to God by an act of your own will. Never change your decisions, but be sure to make your decisions in the light of what you saw and learned on the mountain.

How has this experience changed who you are? What steps can you take to ensure you don’t forget what you learned here?

Lord,

Help me to remember this moment forever. Give me action steps to take for when I get home, so that I do not lose this spirit of love and longing to know more about You.

Amen.