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Claiming Our Mountain - Part 3 - Our Unique Mountain

by Jerry Ousley  
10/19/2012 / Christian Living

Have you ever been given an article of clothing as a gift that just didn't fit? I'd say most of us have. I got a shirt for Christmas one year. It was a beautiful shirt and it was given to me by a very special person. I tried it on all the while thinking what a nice shirt this was.

But there was a problem with this shirt; when I first put it on I could tell as I poked my arms down through the sleeves that something just wasn't right. For one thing it was so tight that it nearly cut off the circulation in my arms. Then I began to button it up. Each button drew the shirt in tighter and tighter and it felt like I was being encased in a vise grip. I managed to get it buttoned up, then tried to fasten the top button. I never succeeded because I knew that if I did it would leave a mark that would make people think I had survived being hanged. I took one look at myself in the mirror and immediately recognized that this shirt would never fit because in between the buttons it gaped open exposing every hole in my tee-shirt.

I didn't want to hurt the person's feelings by taking the shirt back, although that would have been the proper and accepted thing to do. Instead I hung it in my closet and never wore it again. Clothes, no matter how pretty they may be, become very unappealing if they don't fit.

In Genesis 12:6-8 we read how that Abram had an encounter with God, then moved to a mountain. But just like a shirt or article of clothing that doesn't fit, just any old mountain will not do. This mountain is specifically described as being located between Bethel and Ai. They both marked special occasions in the history of Abram's descendants many years after this, but the Bible mentions them because they are very significant.

Bethel was the place where Jacob, the grandson of Abram, had his encounter with God. It's where the staircase that led up to heaven was revealed to Jacob in a dream. He witnessed angels going up and down that staircase, and God spoke to his heart and revealed Himself to Jacob there.

Ai, on the other hand, marked a place where the descendants of Abram experienced a great defeat because they didn't take time to consult God in their battle plans. Later they corrected their mistake and did experience victory, but only after they had been defeated, had lost several lives, and then consulted God.

When we claim our mountain it too should be in such a place in our spiritual lives. On one hand when we step up to the top of our mountain we can see our own Bethel the place where we have encountered God. It reminds us of the victory we now have in Jesus Christ. It speaks of newness of life and we can be encouraged because we know that God is ever with us and we have found peace in our souls with God.

But we also need to look to the other side of the mountain and see our own version of Ai. It's where we got ahead of God and failed. It's the place we don't want to go back to in our spiritual lives. If we don't have such reminders then we would probably find ourselves making the same mistakes we've already made. But when we are reminded of our Ai's then we can remember and not make those same mistakes again.

No, you can't just go to any old mountain. My mountain wouldn't fit your experience. You wouldn't learn from my mountain, and I wouldn't learn from your mountain. Just any old mountain will not do. It's got to be your mountain.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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