Does it mystify you that one day you can be absolutely on top of the world, in love with the Lord, soaring in his Spirit, having faith to see far into eternity, and the very next day... splat! You’re rock-bottom and flat on your face, spiritually. You have no idea where all that spiritual get-up-and-go went, but you're grounded. You're out of it. And what's most amazing, most mystifying, is that just a short time before, you and the Lord were cruising. You were doing great spiritually.
It happens to you, it happens to me. And it happened to the Lord's three best friends, Peter, James, and John. They weren't immune – you can read about it in Mark chapter 9. There they were, up on the Mount of Transfiguration (talk about being on top of the world)... they were having a real up-close-and-personal experience with Jesus, beyond anything else any other disciple enjoyed. They saw the dazzling white glory of Jesus as he revealed himself as he'd never done before. What an experience – and there is Elijah and, oh my goodness, Moses to top it all off, not to mention the voice of the Father from heaven – whoa!
Now you’d think that an experience like that, a fellowship like that would last in their hearts and minds and memories for years to come. So… how long did it last? Just a couple of chapters in the Gospel. Because only a short time later in the Garden of Gethsemane – I mean it was a short time later – Jesus revealed another side to Himself as never before. He took those same three friends – Peter, James, and John – and showed them His deep sorrow and agonizing distress. He even told them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death… stay here and keep watch with me.”
And you know what happened. All that spiritual get-up-and-go they enjoyed on the Mount of Transfiguration just weeks earlier simply got up and disappeared. They conked out just at the moment when Jesus needed them most. So much for their commitment.
And so much for your commitment too, and mine. We are no better than Peter, James, and John. We rise to some new level of spirituality; we commit ourselves – maybe overcommit – to a new depth of devotion and a fresh allegiance to the Savior only to become bewildered at the depths to which we fall almost the next day. Friend, the lesson is that your spiritual life must not hinge on our commitment to Christ because commitments like that only set you up for defeat. Rather, please join me in glorying in His commitment to us. His devotion to save and rescue and sustain. He is the One whose arms are underneath as we rise to the mountaintop… and He is the One who preserves us as we descend down the mountain to the other side. That’s a lesson Peter, James, and John discovered much later on and they pass on their examples to you and me today.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends