I remember the time when I had an exhilarating, joy-filled, mountaintop experience – the day I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior some 50 years ago! I felt joy that filled my heart, my soul, my mind, my total being.
But my experience pales in comparison to Moses’ mountaintop encounter with God on Mount Sinai. Moses received the Ten Commandments that God Himself wrote on two tablets of stone. There was an immense power and divine presence that day on Mount Sinai that can only be imagined. Visualize the mountain engulfed in smoke that billowed like a furnace, deep rumbling thunder, flashes of lightning, and the ground shaking violently! The sound of a trumpet grew louder and louder as the voice of God spoke to Moses!
The Israelites, gathered at the foot of the mountain, trembled with fear as they witnessed the staggering display of God’s power. The people of Israel had watched God’s power with the many plagues God brought against Egypt until finally Pharaoh let God’s people go. God had delivered the Israelites from 400 years in bondage under Pharaoh, ruler of ancient Egypt. But the incredible display of God’s power on Mount Sinai was a dramatic climax for the Israelites. And now God was leading His people through the wilderness to Canaan – the promised land where they would have freedom. And rest.
My mountaintop experience was quiet, personal, whereas Israel’s journey involved the entire nation in a stunning display of His power. In His extravagant and inexhaustible resources, God tailers what He knows is needed for each specific task at hand – whether it is physical deliverance from slavery or spiritual deliverance from sin.
It was through the comparison of the two different mountaintop experiences that I gained another facet of the living and eternal God – He cares for one soul as much as He cares for an entire nation.
The day following my mountaintop experience, I awoke to regular daily life. What happened to my exhilarating joy? I called my friend Carol to see if she could shed some light. And she did. As though anticipating my call, she explained that “The initial coming to Christ is usually followed by a time of testing of one’s faith. And, Satan will try to convince you to doubt the reality of the experience.” Then she said, “Read James 4:7.” So I did.
Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness between Egypt (bondage) and Canaan (freedom) being tested by God and tempted by Satan. Sadly, they yielded to Satan. I will have a lifetime of having my faith tested and stretched by the Lord for my good. And I will also be tempted by Satan in order to try to destroy my testimony. That’s when I remind myself of James 4:7, “Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
God delivered Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh through the hand of Moses; God delivers believers from the snare of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus. No matter which side of God’s deliverance from sin you or your loved ones may be, every rescue is a miracle that only God has the power to do. Each rescue from slavery to sin to freedom through forgiveness is dramatic and miraculous in its own right.
Israel’s journey through the wilderness was not so much about the travel, but about the experiences they had along the way. The same holds true for us. It is not about the travel, but about our experiences and where the road we choose takes us to our final destination that matters.
To surrender your heart to God does not make you a slave; it entitles you to become an heir of His family, and that means living in freedom. Forever.