More Than a Mountaintop High

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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