A Mountain in the Way

This past week during small group we were talking about mountains in the way.

There's a story in the Bible where Jesus tells His disciples to have faith enough to speak to a mountain.

I'm not usually in the habit of speaking to mountains. Heck, I don't even live near mountains.

But I did get to see some a few weeks ago in Tennessee.

There's something special about mountains because I live in a very flat part of the country.

Yet the story in the Bible is about speaking to a mountain to be moved out of the way, and it will be moved when you have faith.

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Our pastor had shared a story about a woman in Africa who heard this same story from the Bible.

Her husband had just passed away, and she was left with a small garden in her backyard, and some land.

That land contained a mountain that could not grow anything.

She went home from church that day and spoke to the mountain to move.

But nothing happened.

She spoke to it again the next day, but nothing happened.

For weeks, she spoke to the mountain without result.

Not too long afterward, some men came to her, asking if they could pay her to mine the mountain she owned for the stone.

It was the same stone all of the roads in the area were made of.

One year after she heard that story in church, she returned to church a changed woman.

The mountain was gone, and with the money she received for the stone, she hired people to cultivate the area into a produce garden.

That mountain had been turned into a source of income for her family as they sold produce to others in the community.

The mountain that had been in the way, had been moved.

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How many times have I had what seemed like a mountain come into my life?

I feel like things are going well with my goal, when something arises to stop me.

It can feel like a mountain!

There have been many times I have stopped because of the mountain.

I no longer made progress.

I no longer thought creatively.

I no longer felt motivated to continue.

I let the mountain stop me.

Yet when the mountain comes into our path, we should pause instead of stop.

A pause is not permanent.

The pause lets you get creative.

Should you go around the mountain?

Should you go through the mountain?

Should you go back the other way?

Those are the questions you get to answer.

Depending which answer you choose will determine your way forward.

You see, the mountain gives you your next steps forward.

To say it like Marcus Aurelius, 'What stands in the way becomes the way.'

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When a mountain comes into your path, decide which of the three ways you will go.

And then get creative with what it looks like to either go around the mountain, go through the mountain, or go back and choose a different way altogether.

Your mountain will create your path forward.

What stands in your way will become the way forward.

Don't complain, but know it's showing you your way forward.

You've got this!