A Call To The Remnant

There is an old black gospel song that says “Lord don’t move the mountain, just give me the strength to climb.” This sentiment for me, drives to the very core of a person who follows Jesus. There are those whose sole aim is for the mountains to be removed. Night and day they cry out for the Lord to remove the mountains. Night and day they look for miracles. Night and day they seek health and they seek wealth. At the core of these desires is the life that they have in the here and the now. It is self orientated, there is no eternal value to it. Self lies at the heart of it.

We all walk through valleys in this life. There are those who cry out to God night and day to get them out of that valley. They want transported through it. They have no desire to walk through the darkness, to walk through the fire, to wade through the troubled waters. Their only desire is that in the here and now they want out of that place. There is no eternal perspective, at the heart of it all lies self. Their eyes are not on Jesus, their sole focus is on the circumstances that surround them and their burning desire is for escape. They don’t want to climb that mountain therefore they would never cry out for strength. They do not want to walk through this valley therefore they would never cry out for the Lord to be with them in the midst of it.

Jesus was offered the whole world if He would only fall down and worship the devil. Not only was He offered the whole world, he was offered the opportunity to avoid Calvary. Avoid Calvary plus gain the whole world. There are two broad categories of saints within Christendom. On one side there are the many, and on the other side the few. The many desire the world and are repulsed at the thought of Calvary and therefore they cry out for it to be taken from them. The few want nothing to do with the world, they are certainly afraid of the valleys and the mountains. Yet, their prayer is that God would give them strength to climb those mountains and that He would be with them as they negotiate the valleys. They desire above all to do the will of their Father. Not their own wills but His be done.

There are no shortcuts in our lives saints. We must climb the mountains, with all the fears and dangers that go along with that, and we must walk through the valleys. Even as we walk through the valleys of the shadow of death, the Lord is with you. He is your rod and staff. He leads you, He guides you, He refreshes your soul by making you to lie down in green pastures and to sit awhile beside the still waters. In doing this He refreshes your weary soul which has suffered in the mountains and suffered as you walked through the valleys. In the very midst of these places He prepares a table before you. And His promise to you who walk this narrow path, praying eternal prayers, is that goodness and mercy follow you up and over the mountains and down and through the valleys. It follows you all the way home.