Go Up the Mountain!

This may very well be the most beautiful time of the year! I love the look of snow on the ground, but I live in Memphis, TN and that is a very rare occurrence. Some might argue that Spring is where it is at. The flowers are blooming, the trees are starting to blossom. God is the Master Creator for sure! There is something so special about the hues of red, yellow and orange. Add to that the mountains of Tennessee and it might take your breath away!

Mountains have always held a special place in my heart. I lived the first six years of my life in Colorado. Denver is known as the mile-high city, and the the mountains are not done climbing from there. It is an awe-inspiring sight. We would travel back often to go skiing or further up to the Grand Tetons near Yellowstone. There's just something about the mountains. 

Now I live in Tennessee. Whenever my wife and I can get away from the busyness of life, we try to make a trip to the Smokies. I've joked that they aren't "real mountains" since I have seen the promised land out west! But when you start making your way that direction, especially this time of year, they too stir in your heart a desire to climb; a desire to explore; a desire for more!

I have wanderlust for sure. There is no doubt. Honestly, I tend to feel the same way spiritually. Hearing a distant call asking me to climb; asking me to explore; telling me that there is so much more! 

There is a passage of scripture that appeals to this inside of me and maybe inside of you as well. We find it in Numbers 33. Here is how it reads:

"While they were at the foot of Mount Hor, Aaron the priest was directed by the Lord to go up the mountain, and there he died." 
(For more context you are welcome to read Numbers 20:22-29.)

​For today, in this moment, I want to pause on this particular passage. The Lord called Aaron to go up the mountain. What a thought! He had seen several times the Lord calling Moses to climb so he can meet with God. I wonder what Aaron was thinking? What might have been going on in his mind at the time? Did his heart start to race as he took the first couple of steps?! I hear the Lord calling and even beckoning us come to Him! 

And this is our journey as well. God has something He has called each of us for. A mountain, one might say, for us to climb. With everything inside of me, I want to live my life in such a way that when God calls, I answer. When He tells me to go, I run without a second thought. Where He goes I will follow, no turning back. This is how Aaron died: doing what God called him to do. 

God, let me die on the mountain! Let me die following after you with all that I am! Let me be found faithful and worthy of the calling that you have for me! 

He's calling to you...can you hear Him?!