Speak to your mountain

   In Mark 11:23, Jesus says unto his disciples "... whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." A mountain is indeed a large, seemingly threatening object. It momentarily delays or even hinders your progress. According to the world's philosophy, you can either walk around the mountain or climb up the mountain, both processes causing great delay in one's goal. Jesus, however, instructed us to believe and to speak to the mountain and say "be thou removed." This means that we can and should, speak to our situations and the obstacles in our life.
    In essence, you have three options: walk around the mountain, climb the mountain or speak to the mountain. Both "natural" choices, walking around and climbing, can represent  choices we make when faced with a spiritual obstacle.
   The first choice, walking around the mountain, represents an obstacle that one tries to deny or suppress, rather than confronting it immediately.  For example, you struggle with depression. Rather than acknowledging that you are depressed, you deny it. You suppress it. If asked, you merely laugh and say, "Me?" But deep down within you, you know that you are depressed, that you cry at night and lack the happiness you used to. You say that the problem will eventually resolve itself and that things will go back to normal, but it never does. Ultimately, the choice of walking around the mountain only gets you back to the place where you started and no change or progress is made.
    The second choice, climbing up the mountain, represents one taking matters into their own hands and relying upon their own strength to get them through the situation. You and I are nothing without Christ and we can do nothing without Him. My strength cannot get me through my situations, I need the grace of God. Jesus, in fact, says that "My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." It is in your weakness that the uplifting, redeeming strength of God will be revealed. You don't need to rely on your strength, rely on the strength of God because He is able to keep you from falling. If you go up that mountain alone, there is no guarantee that you won't fall but if you wait and trust in God, you will never go wrong.
    These two choices, although seemingly logical in our own eyes, only lead to destruction. You walk around the mountain to find yourself returning to the same problem that you thought could simply be avoided. You climb up the mountain to find that your strength is not enough to carry you through. So, what then do you do? You speak to the mountain.
    When you speak to your mountain, you exercise faith. A problem will never go unless you tell it to go. Put it into the hands of Jesus and He will see you through. You don't have to climb or walk around because in every child of God, there is power to speak to the mountain.
    You can make it through when you put your trust in God, the creator of the universe who holds this world in His hands. When you look to God, you will never fail. Bebo Norman sings a song which says, "I will lift my eyes to You," meaning that I will put my trust in God who is able to keep me from falling.