Its hard to see the pasture when the mountain looms in front of us. In the past year, I’ve had people in my life who have gone through some terrible things. For them, the promise of better things ahead, at least in the immediate future, rings false. They are not experiencing restoration of their soul (Psalm 23). Instead, they are poised for danger, ready to defend themselves against attack.
Interestingly, most of the time when people climb to the tops of these mountains, they are the loudest proclaimers of God’s faithfulness. It’s like the mountaintop view allows them to see more clearly, both where they are going and where they’ve been. They still might have unanswered questions about the experience they’ve been through, most of us do, but God’s grace has been demonstrated unequivocally in their life, and they know for certain that the One who formed the mountain will guide them to the other side. Remarkably, oftentimes the more they’ve had to climb, the greater their trust in God is. As Franics Shaeffer wrote, “The higher the mountains, the more understandable is the glory of Him who made them and who holds them in His hand.”
What heights of love, and what depths of peace we can see from a mountaintop view!