The One Who Moves Mountains

Introduction

I want your faith.

How many times has someone said that to me and I’ve wondered what on earth they could be talking about? Isn’t a person who has incredible faith someone who speaks to mountains and they move? What I see are my failures – all the times I’ve spoken to mountains and only seen them loom larger than ever. I see all the times I’ve fallen short and the sleepless nights filled with anxious thoughts followed by stress-filled days . . . . Can you relate?

Yet, when I stop to think about it, I surprise myself with the realization that I have grown in my faith as I’ve learned to embrace the transformation process rather than fight it. Along the way, I’ve discovered so much about the truth of God’s character – He really is who He says He is, I can stand on those truths, and I can hold Him to it. Even when I doubt Him, I’ve found it doesn’t change who God is or how much He loves me.

I’ve also learned God really does see and hear me. I haven’t been abandoned or forgotten by Him, which has been something I’ve often questioned and needed to be certain about, especially when times have been the most challenging.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I had to take ownership of mistakes that were clearly of my own doing and not shift the blame to God or others for things that were squarely resting on my shoulders. No one was more surprised than I was when it dawned on me that I had offense in my heart toward God. But once I realized it, I was able to ask His forgiveness and release things that had prevented me from being able to move forward in my faith because I had been stuck in a miry pit of anger and accusation.

One of my greatest discoveries has been learning I can have conversations with God and those conversations can include asking Him hard questions that can sometimes sound more like accusations. I’ve railed at God about my circumstances more times than I can count. I used to feel guilty and ashamed when I did, but then I realized God is big enough to handle my rants, so I stopped holding them in and laid them all out before Him.

By the time my energy was spent crying out to Him, I discovered my heart had been drawn more deeply to His, truth had broken through my thinking and, at some point, had renovated my soul. What had begun as plaintful pleas had transformed into declarations of truth, praise, and gratitude, and my journal entries seemed more reminiscent of David’s psalms than tirades.

I know I’m not the only one walking a path like this because it’s one traveled by countless others. The amazing thing is, as we travel together, we can learn from one another along the way, grabbing hold of truths we need to hear. As we do, it refreshes our souls and empowers us to put one foot in front of the other, each of us moving forward in all God has called us to be and do in our lifetimes.

It’s my hope that as you turn the pages of this book, it will be as if our paths have intersected and we’re chatting while walking side-by-side. Then somewhere along the way, you’ll discover our conversation has turned into one between you and God. The thing is . . . God is ALWAYS speaking, and He wants to speak to your heart. When you engage Him in conversation, then listen, He will respond.

With that in mind, I’ve included some Conversation Starters at the end of each chapter that are intended to lead you into asking God additional questions of your own. Here are a few ideas for ways you can use the Conversation Starters:

Grab your journal and write responses to each question, including what you believe you’ve heard God say in reply.

Incorporate the questions into a conversational prayer time with God.

Use them in a small a group setting with each person sharing their thoughts and the responses they heard God speak to their hearts.

If you’ve never had a conversation with God before and heard Him speak to you, no worries! We’re going to talk more about that in just a bit. I have no doubt you’ll soon find yourself chatting back and forth with the God of the Universe, the One who loves you more than you can possibly imagine!

In the meantime, grab a cup of tea or coffee, curl up in your favorite chair, and let’s have a conversation about The One Who Moves Mountains.

Chapter 1

My Plan . . . Or His?

When I stop to think of mountains we’ve faced as a couple and as a family, I’m reminded how utterly terrifying and daunting some of those mountains have been.

More times than I could possibly count, I’ve asked God, "WHY?!? Our lives are surrendered to You. We’ve done our best to serve You. Our faith is placed in You. WHY have we gone through, and continue to go through, incredible challenges in our lives? Where are You? Have You abandoned us? Where are we missing it?"

Have you ever asked God similar questions?

Those queries often feel weightier as your kids get older and start to question their faith in God and His goodness because they see their parents STILL waiting on answers and breakthroughs they’ve believed Him for . . . for years . . . or even decades!

Can you relate?

These are just parts of our story . . .

Health issues that have resulted in my husband, Brian, nearly dying multiple times.

Financial struggles that have left us crying out for miracles that would keep us from getting evicted.

Praying for creative ways to bring in money so the utilities stay on and we have food in the fridge.

Selling my engagement ring and having garage sales to make ends meet.

Owing family and friends money.

Never yet having owned a house, only renting, and finding ourselves in the position of having to move to a new rental with no money for the deposit or first month’s rent and having no clue how God was going to provide.

Parenting challenges we somehow thought we’d be exempt from because we’d raised our kids according to Christian principles.

My own personal story also includes having been sexually abused by three different individuals between the ages of two and eleven, having my parents go through a bitter divorce by the time I was two, growing up with my mom being mentally ill and an alcoholic, my dad finally gaining custody of me when I was five, and him bringing me full-time into the blended family he had made with my step-mom. Their marriage was incredibly stormy, so home never really felt like a safe haven for me as a child.

My story isn’t really all that different from others’ and it’s actually far better than what many have endured. The details in our stories vary, but we all have a past that, if we allow it, can be redeemed by the unconditional, sacrificial love of our Savior.

Through the ages, stretching back to the beginning of time, people have faced trials. All throughout scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, we read about our favorite biblical characters walking through challenges of their own. Some of those challenges are still familiar to us today, whereas others, not so much. For instance, many today still struggle with infertility, but most of us haven’t been thrown into a lion’s den. Let’s chat a bit about a crazy love triangle found in the Bible and see some ways we actually can relate to what our forefathers experienced.

Recently, I was reading Genesis 15 and 16, which talks about Sarai, the wife of Abram, coming up with a plan that, in her mind, would bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise to her husband. I don’t know about you, but I can totally relate to Sarai. She knew what God had promised and she saw a solution she thought could make it happen. I can’t even begin to tell you how many plans I’ve come up with, and even implemented, that were my solutions for God’s promises. Those have never worked out well for me. It didn’t for Sarai either.

You probably know the story already. God had promised Abram countless descendants. But there was one problem – Sarai was barren. They were childless. Abram’s solution was to leave all of his wealth to a servant who had been born in his house, which was the custom in that day if you didn’t have a child of your own.

God actually came to Abram in a vision and said to him, Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1b). Abram’s response is a fantastic example of God being okay with us asking Him hard questions and engaging Him in conversation. Years prior to this, God had already promised Abram children of his own, but it was yet to happen. God then comes to Abram, tells him not to be afraid (which I’m sure God wouldn’t have said if Abram wasn’t dealing with a heck of a lot of fear at that time), told Abram who He was, but failed to mention anything about the fulfillment of the specific promise He’d made to Abram all those years before.

Gotta love it when God talks to you about everything BUT what you want Him to tell you more about! Abram held God to His promise and turned the topic of conversation to that sore point.

But Abram said, Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? Then Abram said, Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir! (Genesis 15:2-3)

Ahhh. Abram had God’s attention, God had his, and the conversation between the two continued from there. God wants us to engage Him in conversation. He wants us to remind Him of His promises to us. It’s not because He’s forgotten what He’s promised, but reminding Him can be our declaration of faith and of what we know to be true.

I’ve leveled plenty of toddler-like accusations at God that have begun with, But, YOU SAID . . . ! But I’ve also had plenty of faith-filled proclamations of, "You SAID . . . ! The latter has definitely been far more productive in moving toward the fulfillment of His promises!

Back to Abram and Sarai . . . .

God’s response to Abram was to not only speak truth to Abram – This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir (Genesis 15:4). But in the very next verse he reiterated His promise to Abram and gave him something tangible – the stars – that would