Coming Down Off the Mountain Top

Daniel Foster | @danielfoster07

Mountain top experiences. As Christians, most of us have experienced such moments whether it was a camp, retreat, revival, or church service (etc). We have all had these mountain top moments where we have felt the closest to God. Moments we often wish we never had to leave. But like most good things in life, there usually comes an end, a time in which we must climb down from these mountains.

I want to take a look at Exodus 34:29:

"Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him."

So here is Moses coming down from Mount Sinai (for a second time because the first time he got angry and touchdown spiked the Ten Commandments) after a pretty incredible (if you can consider 40 days with no food "incredible") mountain top experience with God. As he climbs down, he begins to come into contact with others, and they begin to notice something, Moses' face was glowing. It was obvious to those gathered around that Moses had an encounter with God! As I was reading this passage, God made it clear to me that once we have an encounter with Him, it should be obvious to those around us. There should be something different about us.

My favorite part of this is the fact that Moses had absolutely no clue that his appearance had changed! The change of his appearance was a direct result of the time he had spent with God. When we spend time with God, we too will begin to change and we may not even realize it. I tell my students often "you become who you hangout with. If you want to know what you'll be like tomorrow, look at who your friends are today." This is true no matter who you are. The change may be slow, and you typically don't even realize it is happening, but trust me, it is. The best way to become more like God is to spend time with Him.

Others would have never seen the glow on Moses' face, thus never having the opportunity to hear about his encounter with God had he never come down from the mountain. As Christians, we sometimes get so comfortable on the mountain top, that we don't want to come down. But what happens on the mountain isn't supposed to stay on the mountain. We must climb down from our mountain tops and share the encounter we had with God with others! From mountain tops to the valleys, we are the messengers equipped to share the gospel with the rest of the world.

The mountain top is not our destination, it's just part of our journey.

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Daniel Foster comes from the outskirts of Atlanta. He serves on staff at DeVotie Baptist Church where he is the student pastor. Daniel is a fan of the Georgia Bulldogs and the Atlanta Braves. You can find him on Twitter at @danielfoster07.