2019-03-28
man praise on mountain
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There was a story of a young couple that moved from Delaware to a small suburb in Pennsylvania. One day a woman who owned the yellow-colored ranch next door came knocking. It was not to offer a welcome to the area with a plate of cookies, either. She told the mother with her little girl beside her that it was understood that her husband 'was not making it there' and wanted to buy the property to amplify her preschool. This was more than a turning point, it became a stepping stone. Would the child believe that she 'wouldn’t make it' after hearing it that day and for months to come? The mountain would never collapse in this scenario so the youth had faith in what she did have control over, and that was her God-given talents. She used it to get out of poverty and became a success in the entertainment industry. The breakthrough didn’t happen overnight, and many don’t. So we pray – without ceasing, even, as the Bible instructs. But it feels like a one-sided conversation and even an echo chamber. Jesus has other plans for us, obviously, believing we will grow closer to Him if we go around the mountain rather than Him simply removing it. In the end, sending us around it is, in fact, sometimes His way of removing its blockage from our life. What does that look like? We won't pretend that we will have all your answers because there's no wand to wave, yet, consider these 6 things when the mountain stands in the way.

Change is what you make of it.

You need to come to a place of wanting change to happen or you may need to accept the fact that you were not meant to go in a certain direction.
Without change, you could be creating another mountain. Start setting goals that you can tackle weekly and then slowly build upon them with bigger goals to overcome unfruitful patterns. One of the best ways to defeat your emotions when it comes to change is through logic. When we analyze and look at what we already have, we can use these as tools to brainstorm over impediments.

Some mountains must stand.

This is a hard when you are a true mountain climber. We need to trust that there is a bigger picture and understand that we will not scale every mountain. We can find this hope: “I will remember them, and my soul downcast within me. Yet, this I call to mind and therefore I have hope," Lamentations reminded. Yet, if you don’t push ahead, you may never know what good things are ahead. You have a choice, to have a bad attitude, or look at it from God’s perspective.

Stop comparing yourself to others and your mountain to theirs.

When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from comparing yourself to others, you are no longer the master of your own destiny. While it’s impossible to turn off your reactions to what others said about you, you don’t have to hold up your attainments to anyone else’s, and you can always take people’s estimations with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what other people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within – and above. Understand that we might never find out the reasons the answer was “No” until we see God in Heaven.

Choose your company wisely.

Just as great people help you to reach your potential, negative and toxic people can drag your spirit below sea level when you’re trying to scale an obstacle. "If you’re unhappy with where you are in your life, just take a look around. More often than not, the people you’ve surrounded yourself with are the root of your problems," wrote Travis Bradberry, the co-author of the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0. If you want to reach the peak, look around at who may be hindering you.

Take a break.

Really, take a break from whatever is draining you. Allow Jesus to come into your heart for healing. This is a time when it’s very easy to harden the heart and bury feelings under denial; instead, let it be a time to rebuild your faith and hope. We need to fight doubt and unbelief during this season. "It's okay to back off and reassess current conditions against your goals, and sometimes, if conditions aren't right, it's better for the entire enterprise to pull back and live to do business another day," said Adrian Ballinger, who scaled Mount Everest several times.

Fight dismissive thoughts.

We are told in 2 Corinthians to cast down imaginations. Why would God instruct us to do this? Because if we don't we will end up in a corner somewhere playing the victim. The mind is a powerful weapon, so use it to your advantage.

Will you fold, or will you outwit the mountains in your life? You may not have all the talent or power at your disposal, but you can walk up to the mountain in your life and bypass its intimidation. Be reassured that God is with you every step of the way – even when that way necessitates a deviation from your plans to set you on the footpath of His plans.
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