If You Want to Move Mountains

I sat on that rustic wooden church pew for what seemed like forever.  Waiting.  I was waiting for God to point someone out to me that needed prayer. Perhaps someone to sit with and pray over.  But that wasn’t what happened.  As I sat on that pew, looking up at the dimly lit cross hanging from the ceiling, I felt God whisper to my own heart.    

Are you going to release this to me?  You’re not wrong.  Yes, I am asking you to step out in faith and do this.  Stop fighting me.  Stop doubting.

It happened at our annual women’s prayer retreat.  I was one of the ministry team leaders hosting the event.  The morning was filled with problem solving, greeting women, and making sure things went smoothly.  It’s funny how God will remind you of who is actually in charge of how things go. 

I walked into the room where I had carefully crafted each prayer station for the morning.  The stations were designed for women to discover areas in their lives that had become a barrier to a closer relationship with God. As I sat down, I waited for The Lord to prompt me with someone who I could help pray for in the room.  

But all I could feel was a heavy weight on my own heart.  I sat there, paralyzed in fear at the thought of truly surrendering myself to what The Lord was calling me to do. I could do nothing but repeat, are you sure Lord?  His words kept replaying in my mind. 

Are you going to release this to me?  You’re not wrong.  Yes, I am asking you to step out in faith and do this.  Stop fighting me.  Stop doubting.

My neck got hot and the tears started to pool in the corners of my eyes.  I sat there gripping my hands around the edge of the pew, practically on the edge of my seat.  I could muster only one word.  Yes.  Yes Lord, if you’re calling me to this, then I will obey.  If you’re asking me to release my dream to you, then yes, I will do that.  Yes Jesus, I will trust that you’re going to be with me on this journey. 

You see, I desire to be a woman who moves mountains for God.  A woman who sparks change.  A woman who calls for generations of women to come together for Kingdom purposes.  And I’ve had this one dream tucked away in the back of my heart for years.  A dream that I thought was merely a daydream but is now being called out and put right in front of my face. 

And I’m absolutely terrified.   But throughout this journey of calling dreams to life, God has reminded me not to focus on the mountain in the distance, but on the hill in front of me.

Sometimes our dreams can feel like huge mountains.  Sometimes our lives can feel like we’re endlessly climbing uphill to get to the view we’re promised will be a good one.  And if I’m being honest with you, as much as I want to be a woman who moves mountains, I’m terrified to start the journey up the hill to get there.  But friends, I know it’s in those very hills where Jesus becomes more real to me than if I’m standing in the valley.

Maybe you find yourself there today too.  You want to be a woman who moves mountains for God but you find yourself looking up at this ginormous mountain in front of you and you’re thinking it’s simply impossible to climb.  Maybe it’s your marriage being restored.  Maybe it’s a prodigal child that won’t return home.  Maybe it’s a dream you have tucked away in the secret places of your heart. 

If you want to move mountains, focus on climbing the hill in front of you.

Some hills are small and we conquer those easily.  They restore our trust in God and we’re able to see his provision during times of difficult circumstance.  Some hills are treacherous, full of thorns and muddy ditches and overgrown bushes.  We need every bit of faith we have just to keep climbing.

Friend, if we start worrying about the big mountain in front of us and remain fearful of the big dream inside of us, then we miss the good work God does in us on the hills.

It’s on the hills where the molding takes place.  It’s on the hills that our character gets defined and we learn our strengths and weaknesses.  It’s on the hills where our callings are shaped and developed.  It’s on those very hills where our dreams become deeper Kingdom-seeking works. 

It’s in climbing the hills that God equips us, steady’s us, and draws us closer to Him.  It’s on the hills where He centers our focus on Him so that when we get to the mountain top, we proclaim His glory and goodness. 

Right now I find myself staring at a monumental mountain.  This dream that I believe God has planted in my heart, it seems so very impossible when I stare at it from the valley.  Because you see, from the valley looking up it seems that I might as well forget this God-sized dream of mine.  It’s seems too hard.  Too scary.  Too unknown.  And yet I sense God continuing to prompt me to start my journey up the hill. 

If you want to be the kind of woman who moves mountains for her God, for her Jesus, then be the kind of woman who bravely takes the first step without knowing where the hill will lead. 

I know it’s scary.  I know it takes a lot of faith.  I know everything inside of you probably wants to run from what He’s calling you to do.  But fear is no match for our God.  So start up the hill.  Your hill.  

It’s in those moments, the moments when you do things even though they are scary, even though they make you tremble, that make the view from the mountain top all the more worthwhile. 

 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.^”

Matthew 17:20 (NLT)