Original:1/3/12
McMinnville, OR
“Impossibilities
vanish when a man and his God confront a mountain.”
Abraham Lincoln,
The last week of December is my time to spend in prayer and
goal planning. This year I began a new
tradition of spending the night praying in the New Year. Although difficult I
see this becoming a catalyst for my life.
One tradition I have head for years is to discover one theme
for life in the coming year. This year’s theme is “Confront the Mountain” which
is inspired by a quote by Abraham Lincoln that I came upon in the most unique
way. While on muzzle loader hunt in Southern
Oregon my good friend, Ben Sullivan, befriended a man who had been living in Southern
Oregon camp grounds for the past six months.
Ben discovered that he was a hurting Christian man who daily read Psalm
91, other portion of Scripture, and God’s
Little Devotional Book for Men.
This man shared that Psalm
91:4 that was particularly close to his heart which reads, “He will cover you with his pinions and
under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and a
bulwark.”
Pondering this verse and how it related to our new friend I
had the overwhelming sense that God wanted me to give him my most expensive hunting
jacket. The following morning I shared
that God wanted me to give him the jacket and when he tried it on it was, of
course, a perfect fit! With tears streaming down his face, his six foot-four
inch and 240 pound linebacker frame embraced me with new insight about the God who
literally “will cover you”.
The next day he presented me with God’s Little Devotional Book for Men downplaying the gift by
telling me he had read it dozens of
times. In it I found today’s quote from
Abraham Lincoln and the catalyst for this year’s theme, “Impossibilities vanish
when a man and his God confront a mountain.”
Confront a mountain.
As a man ages the mountains get larger. Unlike their younger
and lighter days, men are not as enthusiastic about climbing mountains. Men
tend to avoid the steep edges of mountain sides of youth for the well worn path
of most men. Many mountains appear insurmountable, and in our age and wisdom we
take the detour around instead of over.
In is maturity a man thinks before he climbs. He counts the
cost before he confronts the mountain.
Often times the cost is too great to climb so he becomes
comfortable in the low lands of his life and faith. His motto becomes, “Climb
Smarter instead of harder.”
Confront the mountain anyway.
Men confront the mountains in their life. Men don’t cower at
the mountains. They climb them. They confront
them.
Confront the muddy secrets bogging down your life. Confront the gluttonous avalanches smothering
your vitality. Confront the rolling
hills that have softened you. Confront the cliffs of fear that have trapped you
in mediocrity. Confront the backslide of
disobedience to God’s Word.
Confront the mountain.
