The Path (Fire on the Mountain Series) (16 page)

“The Scripture says that the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter until the full day. If we stay on the path we are called to walk our lives will keep getting brighter and brighter. We’ll have challenges and trials like we’ve already had on this journey, but each one is filled with light, with revelation. Each one usually results in a much greater bonding among those with whom you experience them. I think that is why James wrote that we should ‘
count it all joy when we encounter various trials.
’ If we approach each trial as the opportunity that it is, our journey will always lead to glory and victory.”

“You’re an old hand at this, aren’t you?” another asked. “What are the most important things you’ve learned that can help us?”

“I’ve been through many wildernesses, and I’ve been through this part of this one before, so I do have some experience on these journeys,” I replied. “It is a principle that between the place where you receive a promise from God and the fulfillment of the promise, there is always a wilderness to go through to get to the fulfillment. Each wilderness is unique, and each one designed to prepare us to be a good steward of what we’ve been promised. The real work of God to fashion us into what we are called to be is done in the wilderness. If we appreciate the trials and embrace the lessons He’s seeking to teach us, we will get out of the wilderness quicker to receive what has been promised.”

“What is the greatest thing you have ever learned in a wilderness?” another asked.

“Learning that we can all be as close to God as we want to be. It was in the wilderness that God’s first dwelling place among men was built. It is in the wilderness that we are made into His dwelling place. Where He is, is heaven, so building Him a place to dwell with us can turn any wilderness into part of heaven. The worst place on earth will be heaven if He is there. This is our ultimate purpose—to bring heaven to earth—and we do this by building Him a place everywhere we go.”

“Is that why Israel would carry the Ark of God with them into battle?” one asked.

“I think it was their intent. When they followed the Ark, going where the Lord was leading them, they always found victory. But, when they tried to take the Ark where they wanted to go, the results were not very good. We must learn that the temple exists for the Lord, not the other way around. We are here to follow Him, not just take Him with us. We are told that Christ will always lead us in His triumph, but that is the key—to let Him lead us rather than us trying to lead Him to where we want to go.”

“What is the best thing we can do to help each other?” another asked.

“Just as we must be intentional about getting closer to the Lord and accomplishing our purpose in Him, we must be intentional about getting to know one another and seeing our purpose with one another. None of us is here by accident. We are called to be built together into the temple of the Lord; this is what we were made for, and we can never be truly fulfilled until this is complete. The process can be hard, but it can also be one of the most interesting and exciting things in our life.

“The first thing that God said was not good about His creation was for man to be alone. Loneliness is not good for any human being. We should consider that God said this when man had daily fellowship with Him. Fellowship with God is essential for man, and our most basic need, but God also obviously made man to need more than just fellowship with Him. His first provision for loneliness was family. After that, the greatest provision is our relationship to one another as members of His body.

“Going through this wilderness together will accomplish many things in us. The best of all will be how we get to know Him better. The next will be how we get to know one another better, so that we fit together as He has called us to be in His temple, as living stones. This is even more interesting and fulfilling than the great adventure I had as a student of history.”

“So, until now, studying and research was your main thing, and now you’re going to study us?” Mary, who had joined the group, asked. “I’m good with that. It does sound wonderful to get to know the Lord as your Teacher, but if you are going to answer my questions, I guess I will not be able to experience that in the same way.”

“Sure you can. You all can, and should. Most of you already do. The time is now short, and you may not have the years to do this that I did, but you can experience the same thing with Him. It could be even better for you because it can be more condensed, but this is something you must all do. He must be your Teacher, Shepherd, and Leader.

“I think it is one of the Lord’s chief delights to share with His people the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Curiosity is a wonderful gift to have, and this is why I think answering your questions is so important for our journey. He may teach you faster because you do not have the time that I did, but it can be no less special and personal. If I have the answers to some of your questions it is because He put me here for you. Others here may have your answers, and they were put here for you as well.”

As the sun began to set, we found a place near the stream to camp. We posted watchmen and then drank our fill until all were refreshed. We then built a fire that everyone gathered around. Some began talking in small groups. William came over to sit by me.

“I was listening to your conversation with that group. Their hunger for knowledge is contagious. Is everyone on this journey so exceptional?” William asked.

“It seems that they are. It takes uncommon faith and vision to begin this journey. Even those who might have lived rather mundane and unremarkable lives come alive and become exceptional here.

“Every day is different on this path. You can’t fall into a routine and become an automaton here. You have to be alive and engaged. We were created for adventure. Life is meant to be an adventure, and this is the greatest of all adventures.”

“Every day so far has been unique and fascinating,” William continued. “Every person is unique and fascinating. I have not felt this exhilarated since I was a new graduate just starting out in my professional life. In fact, this is much better than that.”

“Everything that you have done before in your life was preparation for this,” I added. “This is where everything that has happened in our lives starts to make sense. The mountain is where it all comes together.”

“If all of this, and everything that has happened in our lives, is but preparation for the mountain, it has to be the most extraordinary experience we could ever have,” William said.

“I assure you, there is nothing else in this life that can compare to what you will experience on the mountain. The Lord did not say that we would be given a life of abundance, but rather an abundant life. Having an abundance of life does not mean that it is all good or easy, but that there is a lot of it.

“Here life becomes focused, condensed, and everything crammed with meaning. The mountain makes everything we have been through in life and on this path not only worth it, but useful. This is where we are being fashioned into what we are called to be, but the mountain is where we will function in what we are called to be.”

“This is so different from anything I’ve experienced or heard of since becoming a Christian. I feel that this is real Christianity, that this is the way it should be for those who are serving the King of kings. Is this the true faith?” William asked.

“I think it is where faith becomes true. It no doubt takes faith to stay in a lukewarm or dead institution and remain faithful to the Lord. Those who do may be growing as much in the Lord as we are here. Others who are in jobs or places where it is a battle every day to remain faithful could be growing as we are here.

“These can be in their wilderness experiences and be on paths that lead to the mountain as long as they are on the sojourn to find the city of God. But if they are remaining where they are in order to take the path of least resistance or least risk, doing this more out of a lack of faith, I think they have been led astray.”

“You mentioned that there will be paths along our way that will offer different, easier ways that will actually be a distraction or deception,” William interjected.

“There will be many traps and distractions,” I replied.

“The distractions or paths that lead us astray are almost always a temptation to take the easier way, aren’t they?”

“Yes. If we choose any path out of a concern for ourselves, we will likely be led astray. We must make every decision based on the purposes of the kingdom, seeking the kingdom first, or we will depart from the right path. That is principle number one when we have a choice of paths.

“Another important principle is that we must not look back. Until we make the decision that we will not go back, regardless of how painful it gets, we will not go forward with the force of faith that it will take to choose the right way. If we are still looking back, we are not ready to go forward. The one with true faith views even the most severe obstacles as opportunities to win greater victories and make a greater advance toward his goal. True faith makes a road where there is none.”

“So principle number one is ‘s
eek first the kingdom’
with every choice.
The second is
‘forgetting what lies behind, press on toward the mark of the high calling of God.
” These two will help us make the right choices,” William recounted.

“These are the two basics that must guide our choices. Now, if anything happens to me, you can help these get to the mountain.”

“You say this as if you’re expecting something to happen to you. I am a novice in the Lord. You don’t expect me to take your place if something did happen to you?” William replied.

“I’m not expecting anything to happen to me, but we need to be prepared. As Mark said when he first joined us, you are a leader, and if you needed to, you could get these through this wilderness,” I answered.

“The attack of the lion shook you up, didn’t it?” William countered.

“It did make me think of what would happen to these if something happened to me. I think you could make it through very well if it did. I just want you to be ready if something happens to me.”

“I would do whatever I could to help these people, but I am far from ready to be a leader here,” William protested.

“William, you will never be ready. I am not ready for this. I am in way over my head. If we are on the right path we will always be beyond our own wisdom and abilities. That keeps us seeking the Lord, depending on Him, and staying close to Him. You will never feel adequate if you are in the place He has set you, because you will never be adequate within yourself.”

William had exceptional spiritual wisdom and discernment for being such a new believer. He had left behind a life of remarkable position and privilege to enter this wilderness just as the first sojourner, Abraham. I pondered how I had recently almost fallen to the same trap that Elijah did in thinking I was alone. Obviously, the Lord had some of His best men and women making ultimate sacrifices to pursue Him and to join Him in what He was building. There may not be many yet, but they were exceptional.

As I was pondering this, another group approached with some questions.

“You’ve been in this wilderness for a while,” a lady in her late thirties or early forties began. “This is like living in another world. It’s like we’ve begun to live in the most wonderful adventure novel or movie, or even better. It is like we are being prepared to live another Book of Acts. Is this normal Christianity? Is this the way life is supposed to be?”

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Jennifer, but most call me Jen.”

“I will answer your question with a question,” I began. “Do you think that what we see on the news is a reflection of real life?”

“No. Only the most extreme or exceptional events or people make the news. What makes the news is but a small part of what is happening in a day,” she answered, looking at me as if she wanted to know what this had to do with our conversation or her question.

“That is right,” I began. “The news can be helpful in keeping us informed about major issues and events, but it is not the reality most people are experiencing. Likewise, the events and people that make it into Christian publications and Christian television are like the news in many ways. They may be the exceptional, but they are just a tiny fraction of all that is going on in Christianity.