I don’t consider myself religious, but I am spiritual. And I’ll take motivation and inspiration no matter what shape they’re in.
So I was psyched this morning at the gym when Joel Osteen, pastor of the mega-church I used to attend in Houston, showed up on the television screen in front of the bike I was panting on. I needed some Joel this weekend. Plus, I like the looks I get from other obsessive exercisers when they see me watching a guy preach to a stadium as the sweat rolls off my face.
Joel’s message today was one of my all-time favorites. We all have mountains in life, he said, ones that sometimes seem insurmountable. But praying about them isn’t enough. Neither is thinking about them or talking about them. In fact, talking about your mountains often just makes them bigger.
Photo credit: Flickr's Paul Mannix
Instead, you have to talk to your mountains, he said. Don’t ask them to move; tell them to. Don’t worry about whether you can overcome them; know you can.
In other words, the only way to conquer your mountains is to climb them.
So stop talking about your mountains, and start climbing.
A friend put it to me like this in a recent e-mail: “The path between non-blessing and blessing is surprisingly short. We walk the journey of life until we arrive at some great obstacle or mountain that we think is in front of us. We pray for God’s wisdom and guidance. We plead… God, please, in your infinite wisdom, take the mountain away.
“He sits there with a smile on His face. The question always is: what mountain? Because when we look through His eyes, there are just the simple ridges of life, time, vision, and spirit. It is as though they were just His fingerprints left on the planet He holds gently in His hand.”
I was grateful to read those words last week. I surely waste a lot of time and energy thinking about mountains. And I think this image of God’s touch on my life warrants a good hike for exploration and meditation.
Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed the post as well as your comments. I appreciate it.
This is a great post! I’m def putting it in this week’s roundup. 🙂