Exodus 34:29,30 “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai… he was not aware that his face was radiant, because he had spoken with the Lord… and the people were afraid to come near him.”
Moses’ intense encounter on the mountain-top was unique. God met with him in a powerful way, and then sent him back down into the valley to get on with his mission. Occasionally you might come across someone who simply radiates God’s glory, but it’s unusual. I’m fairly confident my face has never shone quite like Moses’, but I have had a few mountain-top experiences of my own during which time stands still, the sense of intimacy and awe are breathtaking, and you never want it to end… but then it does end… and you have to get down into the thick of things in the valley below.
C.S.Lewis wrote of the real but limited value of such glorious mountain-top experiences: “But God never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs – to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such tough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be.”
Whether you’ve had a mountain-top experience or not is immaterial. In Moses’ context, he was the only one to have one, whilst the overwhelming majority didn’t. Don’t waste time hunting for a hill-top experience. Remember, it is in the valley that the true battle is played out. Where you are is where you are. So don’t be discouraged if you’re going through a hard time. As Oswald Chambers said: “Trials are God’s vote of confidence in us.”
Lord, please strengthen me for today’s battles in the valley, for your glory. Amen!
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