Pressure + Patience = Mountain
The biggest mountain in the entire world is a volcano in Hawaii called Mauna Loa. It has a cubic content of an estimated volume of 9,600 cubic miles and is 13,681 feet high! That is huge- massive- that is a big mountain but it is not the tallest mountain in the world just the most massive. The worlds tallest mountain bordering Tibet, Nepal and China peaking at 29,035 feet is Mt.Everest.
Mountains are an incredible aspect of God's majesty displayed in His creation. They can be vast and massive, steep and soaring. They are awesome structures that reflect God's character and beauty.
Eli and I were on a Roadtrip for most of the month of October. We drove up the East Coast visiting friends, family and special places all along the way. It was an incredible adventure- a time to enjoy each other, God and His creation. Washington, DC was our last stop on the trip. While in the big city we visited the Smithsonian museums. We spent the most time in the museum of Natural History. It was great fun to see all the animals. Eli roared when he saw the lion and had eyes almost as big as the life-sized giraffe we strolled by. He was completely awestruck by the experience. I was awestruck at watching him soak it all in.
Upstairs in a much less popular part of the museum was an exhibit on mountains. I usually don't bother to read the information and facts but this exhibit had cool lights on it which were entertaining Eli so I took advantage of this opportunity and did a little reading. I learned that mountains were formed over thousands of years by a process of applied pressure forcing the surface of the earth upward. What struck a chord in me was that while God could have simply pointed His finger and said in an instant, 'Poof- here's a mountain,' He instead chose a much slower process involving patience and pressure.
Mountains are solid. They can not be easily moved or shaken (unless we're talking about faith, but that's a whole other topic and blog). Mountains are some of the most beautiful and firm and massive objects on this entire earth. How did they get this way? Pressure and patience. Mountains are monuments that stand high above the earth boasting of God's faithfulness. God is faithful over time and through pressure, these beautiful massive mountain rocks that are scattered throughout God's creation-earth are a testament to His faithful character. Awe-inspiring.
This got me thinking about the pressures I feel in my life and especially those things God has allowed to be in my life that are uncomfortable, difficult and protracted. How often do we misinterpret the Pressure and Patience we feel in our own lives? When in reality, what God is trying to bring about in us through this testing is a mountain attesting to His Faithfulness and love to all the world!
Pressure and Patience begets a monument mountain of faith.
Patience is a hard lesson to be learning. I believe it is tied very closely to surrender. As we daily, minute by minute, are in constant surrender to the will of God we learn patience. We learn that His Will and His Timing is perfect. We learn to wait on Him on His timing for His will. We learn to trust Him and His ways and not try to bring about our own ending resulting in little more than a hill or mere bump in the road. God's Ways end in Faith Mountains of Goodness- rock solid, unshakable! But patience is part of the process...it takes time to make a mountain and it takes pressure applied.
God never promised that this life would be easy, but He promised to never leave us and never forsake us even when times are hard and it is difficult to continue on (Deuteronomy 31:8). He is the one Redeeming the pressure. It is His mighty hand taking each pressure, each difficulty that comes our way and redeeming it for His glory and plan- a mighty Mountain plan of redemption- a monument to the world declaring His wisdom.
"If you'll hold on to me for dear life, says God, I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. I'll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!" (Psalm 91:14-16)
Since I've last written I have gone through yet another significant milestone- it now has been two years since the accident happened where I lost my husband, AJ, and my son, Eli, was severely injured. What an adventure these two years have been. It has been an incredible journey. Sometimes incredibly hard, other times incredibly rich, and other times incredibly intense. But all of it incredibly beyond me and anything I could bare in my own strength. That is what overcomes me now about reaching this point: the fact that I know that I know that I know that God is enough for me.
It is no longer a 'say it enough times till I can believe it' sort of thing. He has proven His faithfulness to me. He has not left me in my darkest hour, darkest weeks, darkest months, or hardest years. I know He will never fail me. I know with Him as my strength I will make it through this, He will carry me through this. I have a pervasive peace in knowing that I am going to make it because I have an incredible God.
"The deeper your love, the higher it goes; every cloud's a flag to your faithfulness." (Psalm 108:4)
My faith has been very weak, but praise God that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. I have had to pray for the faith to continue on, to continue trusting God and loving Him even when I felt nothing, even when all I saw around me was pain and loss and hardship. What has been so amazing is how each day God has opened my eyes to see Him. Each day there were morsels of grace dropped down throughout the day. (Kind of like Hershey Kisses sprinkled all over the sidewalk-but not in the summer when they'd melt in the heat.)
Sometimes this grace is in the form of a letter from a friend, or in the helping hand and hug from family. Sometimes it's in the way a butterfly would flutter right in front of my face or the way a fall leaf would twist gracefully down to the ground drinking in the sunlight. Sometimes it's in a sunset or the smell of fresh cut grass. Often times it is in Eli's laughter and his embrace. Grace comes from feeling Eli's little hand gripping mine as I steady him walking up the stairs or up a grassy hill, it's but a reflection of how my feeble hand reaches up to grip my King-Father's hand for steady comfort and firm guidance to keep me from stumbling or tumbling.
These grace morsels have always been simple and if God had not made me sensitive to them- they were things I would have missed. But in God's good faithfulness He opened my eyes to see Him, to know Him and to love Him in and through this. It is a gift from Him and something I could never earn or deserve. It is made available to me through Jesus because Jesus suffered innocently for me so that I wouldn't have to be alone in my suffering.
I marvel at all of this in wonder and awe of God and His ways. Here is Jesus, who suffered far more than anything I could ever even imagine and all so that He could be with those who suffer. All so that He could be a Comforter Redeemer. All so that those who suffer now, if they simply let Him, could have an endless supply of strength and grace redemption. It is something worth lifting our eyes for, lifting our eyes to see.
"Be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you." 1 Samuel 12:24.
Ask God to give you eyes to see Him and His good faithfulness. He will provide such perspective. He will do His part but it takes us doing our part as well. Continue to come... even if you feel nothing and see nothing He is still there. Come faithfully... come often. Be persistent, don't give up...remember it takes Pressure and Patience to form a mountain. This takes time and faithfulness. Consider what great things He has done for you. This will open your eyes and let sunshine hope come bursting into all the dark corners of your heart.
"If God hadn't been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, 'I'm slipping, I'm falling' Your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up." (Psalm 94:17-19)
I have had a hard 2 years, this was never anything I expected to ever have to go through. I was a normal young wife and mother, living my American dream as happy as I could be. In an instant it all changed. Life changed, I changed. To consider what great things God has done for me was the most unnatural thing for me to do. I had so many losses to focus on that were vying for my attention and what was the one thing God asked of me...'Consider what great things I have done for you.'
Being a widow, losing a husband is not in any way a portrait of God's goodness but His carrying me through it all speaks volumes of His sufficient love and character. I marvel at Him and how amazing His grace is. It is well with my soul because despite the loss and the pain He has given me the gift of laughter and a smile. He has given me peace and joy and it surpasses even my understanding. It transcends anything this earth could offer. This is a glimpse of what is to come. I can not wait to be Home to be fully redeemed and to truly be able to see the whole picture, to know the whole story. We will spend all of eternity in awe and worship of God adoring Him and belting out Thanksgiving psalms for the great things He has done for us. Let's start now in considering what great things He has done for us.
We all have pressures in this life. Part of it comes from our longing to be Home and to be redeemed. We feel a tug on our heart for something greater than anything this world could offer. We ache and groan in the waiting and the refining. Part of the pressure comes from this conflict of being made in the image of a perfect God and living in the flesh of a fallen world and all its limitations. Selfishness and lack of love are the two greatest causes of this pressure. We want what we can't have so we fight to get it forgetting that all the commandments are summed up in this one word...love. Loving God first and loving our neighbors as ourselves. As we seek first the Kingdom of God, as we seek God first, all other things we need will be provided and perfect peace and joy will be ours.
I'm not saying that as you seek God you'll get the red corvette you've had your eye on or that you and all your loved ones will be in perfect health and harmony. What I'm saying is that as you seek God first you'll have all that you need. Your peace and joy will come from Him and the time apart you have with Him, an intimate sweet time, a daily constant communion- moment by moment. You will find there, in Him, every desire of your heart and every longing fulfilled, you'll receive an expectant excited hope for more. Your status and worldly situation won't dictate your satisfaction and validation. Your fellowship with God will.
Don't waste the cross and all that is made available to you by way of it. Go through it, through suffering to God. Christ knew and bore suffering to know and bear your suffering. Let Him know and bear. Let the chains fall by the wayside as you enter into His presence with simple childlike faith. Just the coming, just the simple speaking out of His name in a desperate plea is sufficient. "Jesus."
"Just to speak His name is praise! Just to remember God is a blessing- now and tomorrow and always. From east to west, from dawn to dusk, keep lifting all your praises to God! God is higher than anything and anyone, outshining everything you can see in the skies. Who can compare with God, our God, so majestically enthroned surveying His magnificent heavens and earth? He picks up the poor from out of the dirt, rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash, seats them among the honored guests, a place of honor among the brightest and best." (Psalm 113:2-8)
What started in out in my life as a mere stump is starting to become a large hill. When all is said and done I want my life to be a mountain monument to God of His love and faithfulness through pressure and patience. These two years have applied great pressure and have required more patience than I thought I could ever have. But I do see a thing of beauty being formed- it is a faith firm and unshakable growing up and out of this, it is something all the riches of the world can not even come close in comparing to.
So I continue on...one step at a time...one day at a time...moment by moment. This is how God's grace has carried me thus far and this grace will carry me Home. And what a triumphant reunion that will be. I can not see it all now. I do not know the end of the story, but I am excited to be in God's hands, to be walking, and to be on His road. He has lead me this far, farther than I ever imagined I'd go with Him and this is only the beginning. I trust Him. He is good. He is sufficient. I walk. He leads. Peace. Joy. Love.
"Looking back you will see that every step was planned. Leave all to Me. Each stone in the mosaic fits into the perfect pattern, designed by the Master Artist. It is all so wonderful! But the colors are of Heaven's hues, so that your eyes could not bear to gaze on the whole, until you are beyond the veil. So, stone by stone, you see, and trust the pattern to the Designer." (God Calling by A.J. Russell, ed P.180)
So even if the glory is dim and the picture is but a few bits and pieces of color, trust all to Him. God is good and Jesus is Lord. His ways are higher than our ways, perfect and pleasing. Surrender your ways to His ways. Trust Him. He is enough- no matter the need, the depth, the height: He is enough.
"There is no limit to My Power to save. Also there is no limit to My desire and longing to save. My Hand is not shortened and it is 'stretched out still,' longing and waiting to be allowed to bless and help and save. Think how tenderly I respect the right of each individual soul. Never forcing upon it My Help, My Salvation. Perhaps in all My suffering for humanity that is the hardest, the restraint of the Divine Impatience and longing to help, until the call of the soul gives Me My right to act. Think of Love shown in this. Comfort My waiting, loving, longing Heart by claiming My Help, Guidance and Miracle-working Power." (God Calling by A.J. Russell, ed P. 156.)
So come and offer the pressure you feel up to Him and wait on Him. Come in faith. Simply speak His name, "Jesus" as your invitation plea. Let Him be Redeemer Comforter. Trust Him. God is good and Jesus is Lord...
Pressure and Patience begets a monument mountain to God's faithfulness.
posted by Kellie # 12:34 AM
