The God of Host

Amos 4:13  For, lo, he that forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares unto man what is his thought, that makes the morning darkness, and treads upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.

Have any mountains to climb or tunnel through? Need someone to calm the winds at sea? Someone who can turn darkness into light? Do you ever wonder if God sees you among the billions who live on this plant? Not only does He see all that we are facing, but knows our every thought and desires to dwell with us and in us. He is the God of host, Jesus is His name. What a beautiful name, a Name above every name. Life is a mixture of good and bad. Sin is to blame for most of the tragedy that happen in life. The difficult things we face everyday happen for a reason. Sin may be to blame, or God may be allowing us to be tested. Whatever the reason, if we turn to Him, He will take these things in our lives and turn them into something good. He is able to do the impossible, we just have to let go and let Him have His way.

Mountain Experience

Micah 4:2 …Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,…

Mountains are used through out the Bible to demonstrate different aspect of our spiritual experience. When we are at the top of the mountain we rise above the problems of life and can better see the big picture of life. Climbing the mountain is not without its difficulties. Most of the time in life we are living in the plains of this world, or scaling a mountain to get closer to God. It is good to be able to get to the top and bask in the presences of God and see His glory. But, the reality of life is that we don’t live there 24-7. We wake up each morning and go about living our daily life with new challenges and there are times we wonder where God is. And in it comforting to know that even in the valley we can see the extra footprints that appear in the sand.  There is a mountain experience for all of us. Let us not be weary in well doing, let us keep climbing till we have reached the top. 

Through It All

Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

And darkness shall be turned into light. Comforting to know that God can take a bad situation, a hard circumstances and do the impossible. Life is rough and the journey we walk is filled with dark valleys and mountains that are insurmountable to scale. Whatever the circumstance in life, He wants to help us make it through. We don’t need to walk this journey alone, He has promise never to leave us for forsake us. He will take us through. Through it all, we learn to trust and believe that in the face of mountains, we serve a God who cast the mountain into the sea. In confusion, He is our comfort as He makes the path we walk clear to us. He whispers, “Trust Me”. We are left to obey and leave it to Him to do what is best for us.

Life is Tough At Times

Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”-

Life is tough at times. We have valleys of discouragement, mountains of problems, roads of confusion, and places where life is unpleasant. Facing life head on and trying to overcome the tough times is not easy. Sin had brought about some of these rough times. Living to satisfy the desires of the carnal flesh most often ends in destruction. The wages of sin is death and the way of the transgressor is hard. But for those who are doing their best to serve God and live according to His Word, life still happens and problems are just as real. As a children of God, and one that belongs to God, we can be comforted in knowing that God cares and has promise to make a way through the tough times in life. If there is sin in our lives, He wants us to confess them and trust the blood of Christ for forgiveness. If we are living in obedience to Him, He wants us to commit the things that happen in life to Him. He will bring us out of our discouragement, our problems will seem as mountain hill when He is in control, we can walk with confidence that we are following the right road, and in the rough places, He will bring joy and contentment. 

A Desert Place

Mark 6:31,46 “And He said unto them, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.” ... And when He had sent them away, He departed onto a mountain to pray.”-

There are times in our lives that we just need to get away and find a quiet place to relax and reflect on God. We all need a desert place or a mountain to go to. A place where we can put aside all the cares of life and allow our minds to focus on things eternal, put our body on pause and allow God to rejuvenate us with new strength. We all get busy with things that are legitimate and pressing. We find it harder to take time everyday to get alone with God and spend time in His word and in prayer. God is calling us to lay it down and head to the desert to rest awhile. Our responsibilities our real and need to be done, but we are of no use if we are so tired and stressed out that we cannot do our job effectively. Jesus practice times of solitude and reflection, He often would pull Himself away from the crowd and the pressing things in life, and find a quiet place to pray and rest. In the desert place, God wants to meet with us, and fill us with new strength to face the days ahead of us with new life and determination. 

This Mountain

Joshua 14:12 “ Now therefore give me this mountain whereof the Lord spoke in that day,...”- God’s promises don’t always happen in the time we think they should. Caleb waited 40 years to receive the promise given to him. The promises of God are sure and they will come to pass. By faith, we can claim “this mountain”. We all have our own “mountains” that God has promised. It may be that our mountain is a friend or loved one that we have been praying for a long time. It may be that small struggling church that God has called you to help and carry the load. His promises are true, and will happen according to His will. There may be lots of things on our wish list that we have asked God for, but His promises to us go beyond the material things of this world. He has promise to meet all of our needs and many times He fulfills these things beyond our expectations. But the greatest promise we have is the assurance that He will always be with us no matter what we are facing or what we are going through. This mountain of grace is ours because He promised us never to leave us or forsake us. The Lord has spoken through His word and we can claim it by faith. Like Caleb, we can trust God to give us “this mountain” for His word never fails.