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MOUNTAINS AND DRAWING NEAR.

God says “Draw near to me and I will draw near to you” and “Seek me with all your heart and you will find me."  He isn’t hiding, but often, he requires you to move closer to him, to take steps, to turn off the noise of the world and go to a place where time means nothing.

Just being with him, taking precious time to worship is like a mountain, the higher you go, the longer you climb with persistence propelling you onward, the more rewarding it is. The view half way up is amazing and inspiring but the view at the top is always mind blowing. At the base of the mountain, hearing God can be like trying to interpret a muddled conversation through a wall but at the top of the mountain, you can hear the whisper of God clearly. Stamina and stubborn persistence will carry you to the top. 

It’s not about works, when you walk through the valleys, he is there with you, no doubt about it. When you don’t have the strength to climb or do anything other than whisper his name, he is there for you but right now, he’s calling to you to come closer, to sacrifice some of your time to spend it with him.

I’ve heard it said that glory is the weight and significance of God. If God’s glory fills all of the earth, you feel it run through you when you stand silent and in awe before the Canadian rockies or an endless expanse of ocean or infinite stars scattered throughout a clear night sky, you sense something greater than you made this, someone big. You are small but you mean a lot to the one who made it.

Imagine for a moment standing at the base of a mountain and when looking to the peak,  it’s covered in a dark and brooding cloud with flashes of lightning peeling out from it and the deafening sound of thunder echoing down the side of the mountain, and you know that the creator of the universe is up there in all his glory and splendor waiting. Would you climb?

Exodus 24:9-11 is a scripture that I have never in thirty plus years of being a Christian heard anyone speak of, yet it is so powerful, a spectacular encounter with the Living God.

Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel went up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a pavement of brilliant sapphire, as clear as the heavens. And though Israel's leaders saw God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they shared a meal together in God's presence!

Seventy-four leaders of Israel head up the mountain to meet their maker. They had seen the Red Sea parted, pillars of fire at night and clouds by day leading them, miracle after miracle, armies destroyed, water flowing out of rocks to quench the thirst of a nation yet here, they were being summoned up to the darkness at the top of the mountain to meet the one responsible face to face.

I imagine it would have taken a long time to get to a height where God was waiting for them. I imagine them walking, climbing, slipping, exhausted they move into the cloud, barely able to see a few feet ahead when suddenly they come to a clearing, and at first they can’t make out what they are seeing but as they get closer, they see God standing before them. They look down and as if it were some kind of strange dream, the ground underneath the Lord is clear as a night sky, like a sea of sapphire, glistening and indescribably beautiful as if to say the most desirable treasures of earth should be under our feet and not in our hearts. Their eyes had not seen anything like it. I can’t imagine what I would do, how I would react when confronted with the glory of the Living God, I am sure they fearfully worshipped like no other time in their lives.

The verse says that though they saw God, he did not destroy them. I imagine his light and glory shining right through them, through every corner of their hearts, everything laid bare in his light and anyone when confronted with this glory would probably feel like they needed to simply dissolve away in his presence and before his holiness.

What happens next is astounding. The heart of God is revealed. A meal happens. A dinner party. God eats with sinners. God prepares a table before these seventy-four leaders of Israel. What happens? What is said in such an environment? Did the ground change beneath their feet to be clear like a night sky as well while they were in the presence of God? Were there moments of eerie silence and simple knowing as each man knew that something so out of this world was happening to them? Was there laughing? Singing? 

Oh, to have seen it! 

God will be waiting for you next time you worship. Bring your friends, climb the mountain that represents you overcoming the obstacles that are stopping you from being with your maker, meet with God and be blown away.