Have you ever heard life described as having mountaintops and valleys? It isn’t uncommon to hear, especially in the Christian environment, that you can have mountaintop experiences when God works in a powerful way and you feel like you are sitting on top of the world. Of course, then, when things around you seem to fall apart…it is often said you are in a valley…a place where you really don’t want to be.
Unfortunately, a valley often follows a mountaintop experience, which of course is what happened to me this past week. Let me explain. I was ordained into the ministry through the Church of God and they now require that every five years, their ministers meet with two individuals for a Periodic Ministry Update interview. Now, they assured the participants that this was not a performance review. There would be no grades given, evaluations conducted and no judgement doled out. It was just an opportunity to build connections between and among the 500+ ordained ministers who live in the state of Indiana.
This meeting had been on my calendar for some time and honestly, every time I looked at that appointment date, I got a little bit of a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Why? Because I had no idea what to expect…and I don’t do well with “unknowns”. I am a “take-charge” type person…so when I’m not the one leading the meeting…I can get pretty nervous. Oh, they said this meeting wouldn’t be a performance review…but of course…my mind didn’t believe that and I automatically figured the worst.
Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The two individuals I had the blessing to meet were just awesome. They immediately put me at ease, and it wasn’t long until I felt the Holy Spirit in our midst. As we sat in a coffee shop…sharing and getting to know each other…I kept thanking the Lord over and over again that I had been given this opportunity. Not only did our time together refresh and encourage my soul…it also gave me clarity on a ministry decision of which I had been praying.
I stayed on that “mountaintop” for the grand total of two days…just praising and thanking the Lord for His faithfulness. Then, I woke up on the third day, and I quickly plunged into the “valley”. Somehow…a virus had infected my computer and it was bad. Every tab I clicked on took me to the same page, which was a fake search engine. I grabbed my phone and looked up this virus and sure enough…everything I read confirmed that what I was seeing wasn’t a good thing.
How could God let this happen? I use my computer so much in my ministry and I had things to do, but everything came to a screeching halt. I had no recollection of downloading anything that I shouldn’t have, nor had I clicked on anything on the web which would have caused this. What in the world was God thinking? Those heartwarming, soul refreshing feelings were rapidly disappearing and I quickly found myself in freak-out mode.
I frantically contacted my son (he’s my IT guy) and told him what was going on with my computer and he told me he would check it out. Long story short…in the end, he had no choice but to completely wipe my computer clean and start over. Fortunately, I had most of my files, etc. backed up and they could all be restored on the freshly wiped computer. And this past Saturday, my son walked in my door and handed me my restored laptop.
I think there are a couple things I learned from these experiences. First of all, what a blessing it is to know there are other brothers and sisters in Christ, whom I can walk this journey with…if I just have the courage to reach out and meet them. The three of us had an instant connection because we all serve the same Jesus. What a blessing.
Secondly, I don’t think Satan wants my soul to be refreshed and encouraged and he is smart enough to know where to “hit” me to get me back in a valley. To a writer…their computer is their lifeline…so he knew my reaction to losing it probably wouldn’t be very Christ-like. You see, Christ never “freaks-out” over anything and this showed me…once again…that my trust-quotient needs some work. I need to grow in this area of trusting the One who is in control…instead of spazzing out when life hits me with an unexpected detour.
I don’t know where you are today. You may be on a mountaintop at this point and full of joy and happiness. I hope it lasts forever…but I want to encourage you to be aware of what Satan may do to knock you down. If this happens, I hope your reaction will be much more Christ-like than mine was and that you put your full trust immediately in your Jesus.
And if you are in the valley, I want to encourage you to look up. Look up to the One who is in control and isn’t “freaking-out” over what is going on in your life. None of it is a surprise to Him…so take hold of His hand and let Him lead you on the path He has set before you. Who knows…there might be a mountaintop waiting for you just around the corner…where your soul will be refreshed and encouraged. Trust me, that’s a mountain you don’t want to miss!
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