Yesterday there was a mountain on my driveway. Literally!
Early in the morning a dump truck dropped 7 cu yards of gardening soil just in front of my garage. It would have to be moved – shovelful by shovelful into a wheel barrow, and then shovelful by shovel full — into the raised garden beds we had built the day before out of concrete blocks.
Because of the previous day’s activities, we were both tired and sore before we ever got up in the morning. Nonetheless, the mountain had to be dealt with, and we set into the job. By 1:30 we had moved just under half of the dirt, but we were spent. We went inside for lunch. By 3:30 we still had about 1/3 of the “mountain” left, but neither of us could move a muscle. We went inside for half an hour to rest up. We were seriously considering leaving the rest for the next day, but a quick look at the weather forecast changed our minds: Rain! We couldn’t even imagine the mess that would make on our “mountain”, and how hard it would be to move it wet!
The threat of rain kept us going for awhile, but it seemed like no matter how many times we filled the wheelbarrow and dumped it in the garden spot, the “mountain” was as big as ever; and by this time, our aching backs and screaming legs and arms dictated that we couldn’t move another shovelful of that dirt.
As I rounded the corner of the house yet again to see that “mountain” that wouldn’t go away, I was reminded of a passage of scripture: “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.’” (Mark 11:23 NLT)
Wait. Surely this wasn’t written for the “mountains” of garden soil on my driveway!
Or was it?
God has been leading me through the Truths Hebrews 11 lately, and the 6th verse came to my mind: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (Heb. 11:6 NLT). Wait. Was I not seriously seeking God? Did I truly believe He would reward my faith? And for something as insignificant as that “mountain” of garden soil on my driveway with rain on the way?
I decided to take God at His Word. I prayed, “God, I believe that all I have to do is speak to the ‘mountain’ and it will be lifted up and thrown into the garden beds! Therefore, I ‘speak’ to the dirt and I believe you will transport it to the garden beds!”
It was amazing. Each wheelbarrow load after that seemed to hold twice as much dirt, because suddenly the “mountain” began to go down at an incredible rate, and it was only about three more trips before we were scraping the last of the loose soil from the concrete!
What “mountain” is in your way today? Maybe it isn’t a literal mountain as mine was, but whatever it may be, do you truly believe that God can move it?
If you are like most of us, you probably don’t. Not really. Not deep inside. Or maybe you believe that God can move it; but you don’t truly believe that He will . At least, not because of your prayers.
If this is you, then I encourage you to meditate upon the truth of Heb. 11:6: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (NLT).
Put it in your heart to diligently seek God. Not because you want Him to move your mountain, but because of His love for you. Ask Him to draw you in.
Then, don’t “judge” God by what you think He hasn’t done in the past. Instead, truly believe that He will reward you.
If you have trouble with this step, then put the onus back on God. Pray, as did the father of the demonic boy: “The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24 NLT)
Then, don’t be surprised when your “mountain” begins to crumble!
This is the first part in a short series based on Hebrews 11 that will be appearing over the course of the next few Nuggets. I pray you will be blessed by a fresh look at this mighty chapter of faith, just as I have been as I’ve recently reread it!
In His love,
Lyn Chaffart
(To access the entire “A New Perspective on Faith” devotional series, please click here.)