What are you going through today? Are you facing a mountain that just won’t move? That is where I am; I am facing an enormous, gargantuan disappointment, and I just can’t seem to get around it.
Generally, when I go through a difficult experience in life, it is the Word of God that ministers to all of the deep and wounded places in me. I have found a healing power in the Bible that I have discovered nowhere else—not in counseling, not in medicine and certainly not in my circumstances. There have been some horrific moments in life when simply holding my Bible has brought peace to the stormy seas of my heart.
However, this time as I travel the unchosen road of circumstantial devastation, it has been worship music that has fanned the flame of courage in my ordinary life. When I feel like crying, I turn on a worship station on Pandora music and hunker down into His presence. When my mind is racing out of control, I go to YouTube and just let the hymns and worship choruses of yesterday calm the worry and questions that relentlessly provoke me.
During this difficult season, I have discovered a sweet song on YouTube sung by Courtney Collingsworth that speaks to my heart. May I share the lyrics with you?
It’s not what I prayed for/ It’s not what I wanted/ It’s not something I understand/ My circumstances seem so confusing/ I’m placing it all in Your hands.”
Your ways are higher than mine/ I want mountains to move You want me to climb/ So I’m going to trust Your work, Your will and Your time/ Your ways are higher than mine.
One day, I’m sure I will look back/ And marvel at how You knew best all along/ You see from heaven—/You know it’s the hard times/ That make my faith steady and strong.
Your ways are higher than mine/ I want mountains to move/ You want me to climb/ So I’m going to trust Your work, Your will and Your time/ Your ways are higher than mine.
Are you facing an enormous mountain that you want Him to move when perhaps He wants you to climb it? There is a value in climbing a difficult mountain that may not be realized when the mountain simply moves. The value found in climbing a mountain is that it increases your spiritual muscles, and it magnifies your awareness of His wonderful presence.
He has promised never to leave you or forsake you whether you are in the wilderness, in the valley or climbing a mountain. What a powerful guide He has become as I navigate those massive mountainous inclines I am facing! As Joseph said to his brothers,
“So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. … you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Gen. 45:8a, 50:20a).
God sent Joseph to Egypt, and while there, Joseph experienced slavery, imprisonment and mistreatment. Those are incredible mountains of immense height.
Perhaps God has sent you to the foot of a mountain that initially might look like a ridiculous mistake. But if God has sent you there, as He did Joseph, He will be with you and will bring something good out of it. The God of Joseph is the God of you!
We can trust our loving Father with the journey, we can trust Him to govern well and we can trust Him that He will use every mountain climb for His glory and for our good.
And, may I just say, that while you are climbing that monstrous mountain, worship while you climb! Climbing this current mountain has enabled me to realize that I want to worship more than I want this mountain to move. I deeply desire to worship more than I desire my own way. I want to worship more than I want the climb to be an easy one.
For mountain climbers, it’s all about the view. The view is what convinces men and women to make that arduous climb to the pinnacle of the immovable mountain. As you climb the mountain with Him, know that once you reach the top in His strength and not in your own, that He will give you a rare and breathtaking view of life. You will see things that others have never seen before as you partner with Him in the climb. {eoa}
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written 10 books, including The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart; Defiant Joy!;Holy Estrogen!; No More Ordinary; Refined; Joy For All Seasons; Let There Be Joy!; Pass the Joy, Please!; Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue; and Stormproof, which releases on March 1, 2019. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart, won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol’s “Jolt of Joy” program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at carolmcleodministries.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett