Conquering Our Mountains

In the Christian walk we often refer to “entering the valley” and “having mountaintop experiences.” The valleys are the low points in our life, and those times in which we experience hardship and trials. King David said in Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

The mountaintops, which rise far above the low valleys and overlook them, are the high points in our life – those times in which things are going great and we feel as though we can soar. David declared in Psalm 72:3, “The mountains shall bring peace to the people,” and in Habakkuk 3:19 the prophet said, “The Lord God is my strength; he will make my feet like deer’s feet, and he will make me walk on my high hills [or mountains].”

Too many times it seems as though we find ourselves stuck in the middle of a valley staring up at the mountain. The mountain represents an obstacle that stands in our way; one that prohibits us from experiencing victory. This morning we are going to look at “Conquering our Mountains,” and gaining the victory over the things that can pull us down into the valley of hardship and defeat below. Our first passage of Scripture will be Deuteronomy 1:6-8.

You Have Been Here Long Enough (Deuteronomy 1:6-8)

6 “The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers – to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to give to them and their descendants after them’.”

The Lord told Israel, “You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.” The mountain in reference is Horeb. Horeb means “mountain of the dried-up ground.” “It is a general name for the whole mountain range of which [Mt.] Sinai was one of the summits . . . It is a huge mountain block, about two miles long by about one [mile] in breadth, with a very spacious plain at its north-east end, called the Er Rahah, in which the Israelites encamped for nearly a whole year.”(1) This “mountain of the dried up ground” represented an obstacle that stood in the way of the Israelites possessing the Promised Land of Canaan.

They had actually encountered this mountain numerous times throughout the years, as they were forced to wander in the wilderness for nearly forty years as punishment for fleeing a previous attempt to claim the Promised Land. Their journey should have been merely eleven days long; but because of their lack of faith, God made them wander there forty years.(2) When the Lord told them they had dwelled long enough on that mountain, he also said, “Turn and take your journey . . . go in and possess the land” (vv. 7-8). He was saying, “The time has now come for you to conquer your mountain!”

For some reason or another, there are those of us here today that just keep wandering around the same old mountain. We have an obstacle – a fear, an addition, an illness, an anger issue, or something else – standing in the path to our spiritual victory. And like the Israelites, it could be an obstacle that could be quickly hurdled and overcome if we would just face our fears, push on ahead in faith, and trust God to see us through. And the Lord is looking at some of us today and saying the same thing: “You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.” Or, as he stated in Deuteronomy 2:3, “You have skirted this mountain long enough.” It is time to move on!

Do you feel as though you are living in the shadow of “the mountain of the dried up ground?” Do you feel as if you are spiritually dried up and withering away? If so, then you must get up today and move on to greener pasture in the Promised Land. You have been where you are long enough! Go conquer your mountain! “So, how do we do this,” you might be asking? Well, pay close attention as we look at some other passages, and we’re going to find out.

Claim Victory over the Mountain (Joshua 14:9-12a)

9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day.