“What’s your mountain?” My husband Dan always gets right to the point. Sometimes our morning coffee break brings some deep discussions. But I asked for this heart-rending question. And I knew I needed to find an answer.
It all started with a song.
Wake-up call. I woke up with the chorus of this song playing in my mind.
This is only a mountain
You don’t have to find your way around it
Tell it to move, it’ll move
Tell it to fall, it’ll fall
(“Only a Mountain” by Jason Castro)
What mountain is standing in my way? Good question, I thought. Is is fear or confusion? Or is something specific, like this mountain of paperwork in my office? Or am I making a “mountain out of a molehill”?
Am I trying to move a mountain in my own strength? After Jesus healed a demon-possessed boy, the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (Matt. 17:19)
Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (20).
Am I struggling with doubt or unbelief? As I began to search the scriptures for other references to moving mountains, I found another example of the disciples questioning Jesus about His miraculous power.
Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matt. 21:18-21 NIV)
Am I refusing to offer forgiveness ?
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:22-26).
What’s standing in my way? It’s only a mountain!
Photo/KarenJordan
YouTube/irock7497 (“Only a Mountain” Jason Castro)
What’s your mountain?
