" …Jesus took…them up on a high mountain apart by themselves…" Mark 9:2
In 2020, I committed to read Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest” daily devotional book. Recently I read one of the devotions entitled The Place of Exaltation that rings true with me and it might ring true with you. When I am serving God on a mission trip or attending a high energy Christian event, I feel like I have been on the mountain. I realized this is a gift of inspiration from God, but I must remember to continue to praise Him in the daily routines of life. Mountain top experiences of camp, a mission trip or a high energy Christian event are incredible. The closeness we feel to the Lord is high, and the perspective we share because of seeing from God's point of view, is invigorating and cherished. We would love to stay there in that moment forever, but we do not live there - we live in human society. Coming off the mountain top experience is important, because we have been filled with the Holy Spirit.
We were designed not just for these incredible mountain top experiences, but those help to inspire us being living examples of Christ, and being imitators of Him. Each moment of inspiration can be for an even bigger purpose. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we depend on the strength of the Holy Spirit. Selfishly, we would enjoy a repetition of the mountain top experience. At those times we feel peace, enthusiasm and joy. We even feel like "perfect angels" in the arms of God Almighty. Those moments, and memories of those moments, are great and help us through challenging times.
It is easy to think that the spiritual high is normal. As Chambers puts it, "In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, 'What’s the use of this experience?' We can never measure spiritual matters in that way. The moments on the mountaintop are rare moments, and they are meant for something in God’s purpose. "