You're The Mountain-Mover And Only You Can
clearly out of sorts. He tells Jesus about his ill son. The boy has a demon in him that torments him, sends him into seizures, keeps him constantly out of his mind. The upset father tells Jesus that his disciples were unable to drive the demon out of his son and he's hoping Jesus himself will handle it. Jesus did what he often did; he handled it. When this was over the disciples asked Jesus why he was able to drive the demon out when they weren't. Jesus, clearly frustrated with their lack of faith, responds: "Because you're not taking God seriously. The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a mustard seed, say, you would tell this mountain "move," and it would move. There would be nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." Through this countdown series I've tried to make it clear my trek to the Georgia Jewel is a faith journey more than it's a running journey. In the story above from Matthew, Jesus associates faith with taking God seriously. I don't always take God seriously. Like I said yesterday, I've spent a lot of my life migrating toward circumstances that are comfortable and easy. I take on things that require me to take me seriously, not God. Sometimes when you want to strengthen your faith you have to purposely place yourself in spots where you have to take God more seriously. On Saturday, I'll be light years removed from my comfort zone. I'll be abandoning my comfortable half marathon distance for a 35 mile race. I'll take on rocky, pit-filled and uneven dirt trails, leaving behind the flat and comfortable paved surfaces of my local highways. And then there's the mountains. This won't be a day of strolling along the flat courses of central Virginia, but a day of making several 1000 foot climbs that will make the finish line seem states away, not miles. I used to say I love challenges. And I do. But today I'm more fond of saying I love watching God move mountains with my life. When I take things on I can do on my own, those aren't challenges. Those things bore God. But when I tackle 35 miles of some of Georgia's toughest running terrain, Georgia's mountains, God gets excited. He can feel himself getting pumped up, approaching a stage where he'll be able to shout, "watch this - I'm about to move a mountain." Saturday I'll be leaning on Matthew 17:20. When I feel the task slipping beyond my capabilities, I'll sense Jesus' frustration with his disciples. I'll hear him asking me, are you taking God seriously here? In that moment I'll be reminded that, not only am I running with some dear friends by my side, but I'm also running with the mountain-mover.
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