Looking Past the Mountains to the Maker

``Many many many people think that Christianity is about climbing your way to God, ascending your way to God, somehow pulling yourself out of your sin, being good enough, somehow getting into God's good graces so that god will love you and accept you. That is not Christianity. Following Jesus and being a Christian is realizing that god came down to me. He condescended to me. He came into my mess, my brokenness, and forgives me of my sin and pulls me out of my sin and walks with me and is with me on this journey through this thing called life. [00:54:40] (48 seconds)  #GodCameDown

Some people think that suffering means that God isn't present in their lives. It's just the opposite. God is present in the pain. He knows what you're going through. He experienced your pain on the cross. So friends, these verses aren't promising a pain free life, rather they are speaking into the uncertainty of life's journey. It's telling us that he will protect you. You're coming and you're going, which is to say your whole life. From beginning to end, every season, every direction, every mountain, he's your helper, your protector both now and forever. [00:46:13] (47 seconds)  #GodInThePain

You see, this psalm reminds us that we all face mountains as we travel on life's journey. But the good news is that the maker of heaven and earth became part of his creation. That is Jesus himself entered this broken world and walked this journey as a man, as a human. And just like Jesus or excuse me, just like us, Jesus had faced the mountains in this life as well. He faced the mountain of shame. He faced the mountain of sorrow, of slander, of rejection. Jesus faced the mountain of suffering. [00:52:38] (43 seconds)  #JesusWalkedWithUs

So even when sickness happens or tragedy or hardship or death, god keeps you and protects you all the way home. All the way. Paul says in Romans chapter eight that he is convinced, I am persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of god, neither death nor life. Jeff knows that his death that's coming soon cannot separate him from life. Jeff's journey through this life is coming to an end soon, but god didn't fail him. God didn't fail him. [00:47:00] (46 seconds)  #NothingCanSeparateUs

But here's the thing that we all know what's true about humanity is that we all need to sleep. Sleep is a reminder of our frailty, of our limited capacity. We have to sleep to keep going. But God doesn't need REM sleep. God doesn't doze off at the wheel. While we sleep, he keeps going. His eyes are open. Never does he say, like, oh, I didn't see that coming. He's never caught off guard. A god who doesn't sleep means that god is always in control. [00:39:39] (40 seconds)  #GodNeverSleeps

So our response when facing life's mountains is to look past the mountains, to look beyond the mountains to the one greater than the mountains. And don't make don't make a mistake that this is, simply just denying your mountain or ignoring the mountain or turning that frown upside down. This is not what this is. This is a deliberate response to cast aside escapism, futile fighting, and internalizing anxiety and despair. [00:35:53] (34 seconds)  #LookBeyondTheMountains

The maker of heaven and earth is keeping Jeff. He's protecting Jeff all the way to his forever home, And he's doing the same for you. So here's the question. Where do you naturally look when facing life's mountains? Is it money or politics or porn or Netflix? Is it food or busyness or the approval of others or even just your own competence? See, what this psalm is doing is that it's training us to deliberately reorient our gaze onto our protector. [00:47:46] (48 seconds)  #ReorientYourGaze

So god provides shelter, and shelter means nearness. It means to be nearer because you don't go to the beach, set up your beach umbrella, and then sit 50 feet away from it. Nobody does that. For shelter to be effective, it has to be near. And this is what God is. He is near when you face your mountains. He's near you. He's with you. He's not some distant observer. Rather, he's right by your side, and he's in it with you. [00:42:03] (37 seconds)  #GodIsNear