the devotional reading this morning was about being on the mountain top with Jesus… and then we come back down into the valley of community where we live our lives and go through our normal routines.

it caused me to consider whether the

Mountain Top

is really not what I have been thinking it was all along.

the tendency is to think of the “Valley” as the struggle, and the “Mountain Top” as the joy and exuberant experience of coming out of the darkness of trials.

today I started to consider – if the “Mountain Top” is where I get to commune with God in deeper ways, bask in the Light of His Presence, be more at one with Him than ever before… then isn’t that what happens in the midst of the struggle, when I feel the least amount of hope, where I am more aware of aloneness than ever before?

isn’t the darkness of challenges and trials where we meet God in life changing, transformational ways?

doesn’t His Light shine more brightly when I’m in the pit of despair?

what if the joy in the trials that James encourages us to embrace is only possible on the top of the mountain where we have a clearer view, because of what we are in the midst of.

Maybes this is when my ability to focus is at its blurriest and also at its clearest.  Blurry because I have a difficult time understanding when I’m in dark places and not being able to make sense of things. Clear because it allows me to focus solely on God and be more aware of His Presence and His Peace than ever before. 

This is when utter trust and dependence takes place.

Perhaps the Mountain Top experience I long for when I’m hurting is already here – I just need to be willing to stand up to see it from His viewpoint.

And then when I go down into the valley of life, where there are so many distractions and not enough time to spend with Him, I bring just a little bit more of the Mountain Top perspective with me.