Mountain Moving
By Elin Henderson
“So
Jesus answered…them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you if you have faith and do not
doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you
say to this mountain “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” it will be
done.’”
Matthew 21:21
(NKJV, emphasis added)
After living on the flat coast of
Africa and then in Florida, I am always overwhelmed and amazed to travel into
“mountain” country. Whether it’s the Drakensburg Mountains of South Africa or
the Rocky Mountains here in the US, I am awed by the size and magnitude of
these seemingly immovable landmarks.
So, when Jesus says to the disciples,
“If you have faith, you can tell that mountain to be removed and cast into the
sea, and you know, it will happen,” the impossibility of the task from a human
perspective isn’t hard to imagine. Granted, most of us aren’t needing actual
mountains moved, but let’s face it, we all have some pretty BIG mountains in
our lives. Mt. Fear, Mt. Insecurity, Mt. Hurt, Mt. Unforgiveness, to name a
few. The size and magnitude of these monsters in our lives can be overwhelming
and lead us to despair or despondency.
Jesus is calling us like He did His
disciples - - to face our mountains with faith and not doubt, not because we
can move that mountain, but because HE
CAN !
Is He bigger than our mountains? Is He stronger? Is He able? The answer
is always YES! When we believe that He is able and have faith in
His ability, then the ground starts to rumble and the mountain begins to
move.
Look again at this verse. It isn’t
just removing the mountain. It is casting it into the sea. There is closure
when something sinks beneath the waters. Then, when we recall the mountains,
all we’ll see is a sign floating from God reading, “No swimming and absolutely
no SCUBA diving permitted.” So, let’s start moving some mountains, and when the
sea swallows them up, let’s obey the signs and stay out of the water!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Are there any mountains you can “name” in your
life today?
2. How does seeing that “no swimming” sign in the
waters help us have victory?
FURTHER READING:
Oakwood’s
missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as
church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to
thirteen-year-old Callie and eleven-year-old Elias. They are currently in
America on Home Assignment.
