The Highest of Mountains
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Micah 4:1-3
1. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, 2. and many nations shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more;
This familiar scripture to me, though I never remember that it is from Micah! The mountain of the Lord shall be the highest mount and shall be raised up above the hills. I wonder if the intent is that everyone will be able to see it from anywhere in the world—it will be the tallest of all mountains everywhere? People shall flow to it because God placed within each of us a tiny bit of Himself, which longs to become a part of the whole—reunited with Him.
Micah predicts Jesus. He promises that He will teach God’s laws to us once and for all, so that we can place them upon our hearts. They will become a part of us, and we will long to obey them so that we can spend eternity in heaven with our Father. Laws we know that Jesus came to exemplify and model perfect obedience and love—God’s law. A better law than any man could think of or enforce.
God will judge us, individually as a people of the world, among and within the world. To me, this says that we are responsible for everyone else—I’ll try not to get too political here, but I think we have a tremendous responsibility to be sure we’re in line with God’s vision of peace and freedom before we go charging off into other countries! OK, I got it out of my system! God will “decide for strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.” Peace. Love. Harmony. Unity as well-loved children of God. That’s God’s idea of a perfect world. Our on-going challenge is to be in tune with that idea.
As private citizens we can’t necessarily change world politics or the dynamics of world leaders—except through our vote. And then we have only prayer. But what a powerful tool! Prayer is so very powerful and it unleashes God’s power into the world. The other night I was compelled to pray for a couple of hours—ardently, completely engrossed, fully engaged, and open to God’s leading. He wanted me to pray that He open the floodgates of heaven and pour out His love upon the world.
That sounds a little crazy I guess! Some people might call to mind snake-charming and other kinds of whacky things. But I promise you, if you have ever had the experience, it is unbelievably powerful. I don’t know what was going on in the world at that time, but I know that God desired me to request His divine action in this world. Of course He could do it on His own, but I think He wants us to ask—He allows it to be our idea. But that doesn’t mean He won’t give us a nudge, or wake us up in the middle of the night, or prompt us to act.
Is it so hard to believe? He made the world and everything in it. He made us and placed within us a deep, deep desire to seek and find Him. The other night as I prayed I felt as if I were outside myself. I was in a perfect communion with God. He reached down from heaven and urged me to go to Him on His holy mountain. He beseeched me to pray for the world. Was a disaster averted? I don’t know. Was a life saved? Who knows? Was the world different the next morning because I prayed the night before? Undoubtedly. And so was I! Changed. Purified. Full and overflowing at my communion with God.
I hope you spend today seeking God’s Holy mountain, praying for peace and that you find peace and comfort in knowing that God is in absolutely everything.
Mary
