I recently wrote a devotional for my friends at Sisters in Scripture on Facebook and wanted to share it with all of you here, too. It's taken from Philippians 3:13-14, which are our ministry's key verses. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
When was the last time you had one of those "mountaintop" experiences? You know the ones I'm talking about, right? Going on a missions trip, being involved with a major outreach event, or attending a retreat or conference where you felt free to experience Jesus and His love and really spend time with Him without any distractions from the outside world. You felt changed, more spiritual somehow, and couldn't keep from smiling from ear to ear.
As a teen, I attended church retreats often and usually came back feeling like it was me and Christ against the world and nothing would beat us. Then I'd get back into everyday life and slowly the things that bugged me before would start getting on my nerves again and the relationships that hurt me would start attacking again, and I would get to the point where I forgot how I felt back at that amazing retreat. I'd feel so guilty, because everyone would say "don't lose that feeling" and "keep up what you learned at that retreat." I didn't know why I couldn't stay on that mountain and felt I had done something wrong.
As a slightly more mature Christian, I've realized that each experience in our lives shouldn't be seen as a mountaintop, but just as another step in our journey. Each of these steps helps us grow and molds us to be more like Christ (if we allow it). But we need to let go of that expectation that it has to be some huge step and light coming down from heaven kind of experience. That is based on feelings, and feelings fluctuate so frequently, especially in women.
Being a part of a recent "Get REAL, InC. missions trip to the Bahamas reminded me about this problem we sometimes have. I know many of us were very moved and changed by the trip, but I want to be sure we don't try to make it about that week. That was a step toward the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. We need to take what we learn from the experiences God allows in our lives and use them to help us take another step toward our Savior.
As the year starts to come to an end, we are tempted to look for the "highlights"-the mountaintop experiences. I challenge you to instead look for those quiet, subtle moments in your year where you look back now and can see that God was working on your heart even then. Count each step toward Him as a significant blessing in your life.
