Do you know what extends from the Bering Sea to the Strait of Magellan and helps to determine the flow of watersheds in North America? If you guessed the Continental Divide, often referred to as the Great Divide, then you are correct. This elevated terrain begins in Alaska and winds its way eastern through Canada before entering the United States in Montana, then zig zags southward to New Mexico. From there this divide enters Mexico and makes its way to the southern tip of South America, separating the water basins that flow into the Pacific Ocean from those that drain into the Atlantic Ocean.

At one point along the Great Divide, known at the Triple Divide Peak, located in Glacier National Park (Montana), two continental divides converge, and from this point, waters flow into three oceans – Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico, and Arctic Ocean via the Hudson Bay – thus making it the only place in the world where from one location waters drain into three oceans.

There are several smaller divides in North America, one of which that follows the Appalachian Mountains and determines which watersheds drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean from those that exit via the Mississippi River. And you might have heard of the Saint Lawrence Seaway; well, it generally follows another smaller secondary divide. It is the Laurentian Divide that converges with the Continental Divide to create the Triple Divide Peak referenced above.      

Not only are the drainage of rivers and streams separated by the Great Divide, we live in a world that too is Greatly Divided. We live in a world that does an awful lot of talking but very little listening. We don’t seem to agree on anything, in fact, we don’t even agree to disagree any longer. Instead, we live in a world of “I am right, and if you disagree with me, then frankly, you are wrong.”

What if each of us made it our goal to be (or become) a bridge builder; someone who helps opposite sides cross a divide? What if the goal of every interaction, every dialogue, was to have a relationship with the other person, rather than prove a point, or to simply be right? Truly listening to someone, hearing their story, has a way of bringing people together, even people of very different backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs.

And if you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, being a peacemaker comes as part of the deal. In His most famous teaching, the Beatitudes, one of the things Jesus said was – “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Mt. 5:9). The apostle Paul says this, found in Romans 14:19 – “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” There is a real connection that occurs between people when peace is pursued. The psalmist writes this – “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other” (Ps. 85:10).

So, my challenge to all of us – in this great divide of a world we live in, what can each of us do to build a bridge, to join that which has been separated by some great divide? To turn greatly divided into greatly united!    

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We all have those moments when all the worries of life are temporarily replaced by the proverbial mountaintop high. Maybe it was a weekend conference or retreat. Maybe you and your family headed out of town after work on Friday night and simply “got away” for the weekend. Maybe you took a long walk on the beach or wherever it is you go to find peace and quiet. Or maybe you just stayed in your pajamas all weekend and binged on your favorite television shows. Whatever it was, the view from that “mountaintop” perch was breathtaking. You felt an intense burst of joy and energy, a sense of calm, a re-orienting, ready to take on the world. That weight, that stress, you had been lugging around, it seemed lighter.

But then Monday morning comes. The past due bills still sit on your desk, the kids are off the rails, that dreaded medical test is now just a few days away, your boss is ultra-demanding, and on top of that, you find a puddle under a pipe in the basement.

We have all had those mountaintop experience moments only to have them come crashing down in a heap. Joy and ecstasy is quickly replaced with fear, worry, sadness, frustration. Or maybe just to wear and tear of life. We go from the highest of mountain tops to the lowest of valleys.

We all desire those moments of intense pleasure, but let’s be honest, we don’t really want to have to work for them. The same can often be said of our experiences with God. We want those mountaintop experiences; those momentary floods of joy and peace that eclipse all other human experiences.

There is a great market for momentary religious experience but there is very little enthusiasm for the patient apprenticeship of allowing God to mold us into His image. While it is true that God can and does show up anytime, anyplace, both expected and unexpected, it is also true is that mountaintop experiences often emerge from the regular spiritual disciplines that we build into our lives.  Becoming more like Jesus does not happen through a momentary experience. It occurs when we commit our lives to Jesus and engage in practices that allow Him to change us. The Christian life is a long-distance race. It is putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time, day after day. The apostle Paul tells us that he presses on and strains forward (Philippians 3:12-14). The writer of Hebrews tells us to run with perseverance (12:1).

Here is what we read in Hebrews 12:1-3, as found in The Message:

“Do you see what all this means – all these pioneers who blazed the way, all the veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running – and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, both who began and finished the race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourself flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline in your souls!” 

The view from the mountaintop is beautiful, but is fleeting, whereas the constant walk along the path leads you to even greater places of beauty. If you desire God to regularly show up in your life, show up before Him in faithful and consistent ways, step by step, day after day.

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On a daily basis we engage in many activities – sleeping and waking, going to school or work, sitting in from of our computers, taxiing kids, caring for aging parents, exercising, watching TV, grocery shopping, household chores, the list goes on and on.

And throughout the day you also find yourself repeatedly getting hungry. This is your body’s way of triggering the normal physiological need to eat. Eating provides our bodies with the fuel and energy needed to remain healthy and active. There is another sensation other than hunger also associated with eating; the desire to eat, called appetite. Sometimes our desire to eat is due to hunger, other times, simply because we’ve seen or smelled appealing foods. What causes us to feel hungry? When you eat, the hormone leptin is released into your body, causing a decrease in the motivation to eat. As your body begins to run low on fuel, leptin levels decrease, triggering another hormone (ghrelin) to be released, increasing your sensation of hunger.   

It is our appetite (desire to eat) that so often gets us into trouble, not our hunger (need to eat.) Next time you say that you are “hungry,” ask yourself if it is your body telling you it needs refueled, or is it just a craving, habit, the availability of food, or some other social or emotional factor?

Scripture tells us that we should be hungry for reading and digesting God’s Word. We need to regularly ingest (take it in, absorb it) scripture in order to digest it (use it for our benefit). When God was instructing Joshua about how the Israelites would take possession of the Promised Land, He included an important instruction to Joshua. Here is what we read in Joshua 1:8 – “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Jesus called himself the “bread of life” (John 6:32-35), promising that whoever comes to Him will never be hungry or thirsty. In what are known at the Beatitudes, Jesus says this – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). “Hunger and thirst” vividly expresses a deep longing. It is more than just a casual desire; it is an active desire. The Greek word used in this verse for filled is “chortazo;” which comes from the root word for a place where grasses grow and animals go to graze. The image is “to feed with herbs, grass, hay, to fill, satisfy with food, to fatten.” It implies filled to the point of being satisfied.

After Jesus had fasted in the wilderness, Satan, just as he does with us, tempted Jesus at his point of weakness (hunger). Here is what we read – “And after fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread’” (Matthew 4:2-3). Satan suggested to Jesus that he (Jesus) had the power to satisfy his own needs. But Jesus did not take the bait. Instead, he boldly responded, quoting directly from Scripture – “But he answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by the every word that comes from the mouth of God’’” (v.4). Jesus was pointing back to when God fed manna to the Israelites in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:3). We must recognize our utter dependence on God’s word.

As a side note – After Jesus had refused to satisfy his hunger by miraculously turning stones into bread, we see in v.11 that he is fed supernaturally by angels who ministered to him.      

If we hunger and thirst after the right things, we are promised to be filled (Isaiah 55:1-2).

So today, I ask you two questions – What are you hungry for? And are you hungry for the right things?

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We are a world that is in perpetual motion. We run full bore from the minute we climb out of bed until the moment we collapse back into bed at night. Then once we climb back into bed at night we roll around and find ourselves not able to sleep; our bodies are exhausted, but our minds are still racing, thinking of a million things. Cell phones are never out of arms reach. Even weekends and vacations are of no help; we take our work and our technology with us wherever we go. And social media, oh my, it consumes, I could argue wastes, huge amounts of time and energy.

We need to intentionally build times of silence and quietness into our schedule. Our body needs down time to rest and recharge and our soul needs times of silence and quietness as well. In addition to rest and quietness being healthy, those moments also often allow us to hear God’s voice, which is not always in loud tones. Sometimes He speaks to us in gentle whispers (1 Kings 19:9-13). It takes real practice to be still before God. Psalm 46:10 begins with these words – “Be still and know that I am God.”

Being still and blocking out the distractions helps us focus on what God is doing in us and around us. Samuel, Israel’s last judge, was passing the baton to Saul, who would become their first king. In Samuel’s farewell address, he instructs the people to be “stand still” in order to both see the evidence of God’s past and current righteous acts (1 Samuel 12:7) and be awed by His divine power (12:16).    

Sometimes we need to simply sit and listen to the Lord. As Jesus was hanging out with his good friends Mary and Martha, we find this teaching, still relevant to us today. Mary sat quietly and listened to Jesus teach while Martha seemed very distracted with wanting to tend to Jesus’ needs. As Martha seemed to throw Mary under the bus for not helping with the chores, here is what he says to her – “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled abut many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).   

We are called to wait patiently and trust in the Lord. Psalm 37:7 tells us “be still before the LORD and wait patiently, not fretting about evil.” We also find hope in our waiting in silence (Psalm 62:5).

And we find strength in our silence and waiting before the Lord. Among other things, Isaiah 30:15 tells us that “in quietness and in trust will be your strength.”

If you know anything about wheels, then you know that they turn around an axle. Even when the wheel is turning at 200 miles per hour, in the center where the axle is found, there is no movement at all. The axle is not moving, attached to the vehicle; it is static, even as the wheel around it turns. And just as with the axle, while life around you turns at a high rate of speed, it is of utmost importance that you find a place where you can go to be alone with God in stillness and quietness.

It takes commitment to carve out time and space to stop turning and slow down your pace of life. The time and space looks different for everyone, but one thing is common among all who say they regularly hear from God … they spend time in His presence, away from the speed and spinning of life.

So, today and every day, I encourage you to be counter cultural and slow down. Your body will be glad you did and it also will give your soul space to find rest and great hope in Jesus.

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