The Christian life is a hard one to walk. There are so many new things that we learn after we turn to Christ that we did not know prior to salvation. Life is tough, and thankfully we have the Church and Christ to help along the way. But so often we think that after conversion, we will find smooth sailing (so to speak), and easy roads to walk—but so often that is not the case.
We do not walk roads in valleys, but over mountains. The Christian life is filled with mountain after mountain of tests and work to get us to the actual valley we hope to one day call home. I think about the Children of Israel in the Old Testament. That story of old, and all the hard work that was behind them and that which was ahead. The time they found themselves looking up at the mountain of God in the Valley of Vision. I think about what God had called them to be—it was to be a people after his own name. They were a people that understood the hard calling of being God’s people. I know that the calling has not changed for his people of the New Testament Church.
In this life, we will be faced with mountains that must be summited so that we can see the promised land before it. God is faithful, knowing the hardships of this life. Death, sickness, and the problems of relationships are all things that we face every single day. But God is faithful to his people. He has taken the initiative for us. He sent his Son to help us along the way. The Spirit of God promised in John 3 helps every believer overcome the mountains of the flesh, and find the Valley of God prepared for us by his Spirit.
I think of John’s words when reflecting on this reality that we all face each day.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?—1 John 5:4–5 (ESV)
Ultimately, the only way we can overcome the mountains that we face in this world is faith in Christ. It is awesome of our God that he sends his Son, and prepares a people for his own possession and calls it the Church. It is the Church that God has given all of us to help one another through these times as well. I am thankful that when I face the mountains of life—the mountains of death, disease, depression, and hurting, God has given me his people to help me overcome the mountain.
God has called us to be a people who love Him and come together when the road gets steep, and path of the Christian life grows long. Trust in your God, and his people to help you climb the mountains of this life. May we be a church that is always looking to the valley that is prepared for us beyond the mountains of this life.
Bro. Jesse