December 10 Back to the Valley

Luke 9:37-41 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”  
 
JESUS has effectively just been to Heaven. Transfigured – made beautiful and bright – on the mountain, he spent a few intimate moments with his Holy Father.
   Sometimes we have the opportunity to experience intimacy with God’s glory, don’t we? Such moments can occur in the singing of a special hymn or song that evokes a sense of deep love and gratitude toward our Holy Father. Sometimes we see a friend or loved one powerfully transformed into a loving, saving relationship with God. When we see their life dramatically change, we dwell for a few moments in God’s glory – a joyful moment with the holy Father.
   Moments in prayer, too, can draw us intimately into God’s glory. We confess our sins; we praise his provisions for our lives. We submit to God with, “Here I am.” We await his call, anticipating a deeper personal life with our holy Father in Heaven.
   In the light of Jesus’ transfiguration and the Bible’s record of Abraham, Moses and Elijah meeting with God on a mountain, such close moments with God are often called “mountain-top experiences”. These are experiences that become places we want to stay as Peter did (Luke 9:33). We desire the intimate glory with the Father to last forever. But, alas, they are but a preview of our eternal life. In the meantime, we are not to dwell with God, but we must in God’s will, we must go to the valleys to work in God’s power. Satan’s war against God’s kingdom requires us to fully engage with the “armor of God” (Ephesians 6) – the glorious power of God.
   Thus, Jesus goes from Heaven’s glory to confront Satan’s evil. His work remains unfinished. There is teaching, exorcism, healing, dying, rising, sending and ascending yet to do. Our Savior has come from glory to the earth, so you might have an eternal “mountain-top” relationship with the Holy God.
   Remember these days as you work in the valleys with God, you will one day dwell with God on his holy mountain: Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.      
 
Prayer: Lord, keep me mindful that even the darkest valleys lead to the mountain’s top when I am focused on you. In Jesus’ name, amen.