Climb Ev’ry Mountain

Many things can bring me joy, but it isn’t often that I shed tears of joy. I want to be totally honest here. I don’t have any memories of weeping tears of joy in church although maybe sometimes, if I was giving a talk, I might have got a little emotional. I do remember feeling emotional when I gave a speech for my daughter’s wedding. But what generally brings me joy is a happy ending in a movie. I’m trying to think of examples. The only two that I can think of currently are the wedding and closing scene in The Sound of Music and the closing song in Prince of Egypt. Such episodes generally take me by surprise and catch me off guard. It’s as if something in my sub-conscious mind kicks in. What’s wonderful is that it tends to happen again and again regardless of how many times I see the movies. We used to have the soundtrack to The Sound of Music at home when I was a child, so maybe that is a contributing factor too.

I particularly liked the emphasis on faith and prayer. It’s sometimes hard to see how prayer can make a difference. It comes very easily to me to want to commune with God, so prayer lifts my spirits, but I don’t see a clear cause and effect. I tend to expect God to say “No” or “Wait” most of the time. Or I expect him to have something better or different in mind that I know little or nothing about.

I often like to focus on the fact that God has his own plan, and ultimately everything that happens turns out for the good of those who believe. I focus on the following two verses in particular:

Rom 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

And the Bible gives two very interesting examples of God permitting evil events with the intention of using them for good purposes. The first is Joseph in the Old Testament who was sold into slavery by his brothers. Eventually he rose to a high position in Egypt and was in a position to help and forgive his brothers. He spoke these words to them when they feared for their lives:

Genesis 50:20
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

And in the New Testament, when Peter called on those who crucified Jesus to repent and believe, he spoke the following words, emphasizing that it was all part of God’s plan:

Acts 2:22-24
²² “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

And later, in Acts 4, when the disciples are praying, again, they saw the crucifixion as part of God’s plan.

Acts 4:27-28
²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 

So, if God is working everything out according to his purposes, why not just leave it all to God? But prayer is emphasized throughout the New Testament, particularly by Jesus, so it’s clearly worth doing. We don’t understand precisely how it works. I’ve heard Christians thank God for making the sun shine for a church picnic. Or maybe, I thanked God myself when I passed an exam. Was it really God or were these things gonna happen anyway? The key thing for me is that Jesus encourages me to pray, so I pray. I particularly like the following line from “When You Believe”:

We were moving mountains long before we thought we could.

And this interesting statement by John Wesley. I’m not sure that I totally agree with it, but it’s certainly provokes me to think – and to pray:

“God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.” – John Wesley

Somehow, God is clearly incorporating our prayer into his plans, so it’s not just something that’s helpful to use psychologically and spiritually.

1 John 5:14
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”