She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes...

Deuteronomy 2, verses 3 and 7: “You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north . . . For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wonderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing” (NAS).

YOU HAVE CIRCLED THIS MOUNTAIN LONG ENOUGH…If I could actually see God standing over me and he screamed this at me in a thunderous loud voice, I am quite certain it might not be loud enough, LOL! I need to engrain these very words into the hard wiring of my brain!!! Stubborn doesn’t even begin to describe me at times, and I am just so very thankful that we serve a God who never ever ever gives up on us.

Each of us probably has our own mountain, whatever it may be - people pleasing, perfectionism, insecurity, self-doubt, anxiety, anger, addiction, lack of forgiveness for another, lack of forgiveness for yourself, refusing to accept grace, etc., etc., etc. Come to think of it, I think I just may have a whole mountain range full of mountains I like to circle! I often wonder if God ever just sits back and laughs at the fact that he has cleared me a perfect path into a nice green pasture, yet I continue to circle the traitorous mountain as if I have no choice but to do so-maybe he giggles and sings “She’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes, she’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes, yeehaw!!!”

But really, what is it going to take for you and for me to stop circling that mountain? Must we really come to the point where we give up and give in out of exhaustion? What it will take is likely dependent upon what your mountain is, but there are a few words and concepts God is working with me on to help me stop circling a mountain.

First of all it is YOUR mountain, stake a claim on that sucker and feel all the feelings that are associated with it! Grant it, ignorance can be bliss, but if we are ever going to stop blindly circling the mountain, we must first blatantly acknowledge its existence – whether we like it or not. Second, follow the flow of your mountain journey. What makes you keep circling your mountain? Do you circle it again and again out of fear? What will it take to stop the circling cycle? Third, pray for forgiveness if needed. If there is any kind of sin behind your mountain circling, ask God to show it to you so that you may be forgiven, and ask for the strength not to fall into the same sin traps over and over again. Also, the hardest part of forgiveness may well be forgiving yourself, but this is essential! Finally, freedom, freedom from the mountain range to move onto the bright new green pastures! Feel, flow, forgive, freedom – the 4 F’s – feel, flow, forgive, freedom.

Every person’s path to personal freedom is different, and what is working for me may or may not work for you. But always remember, God never meant for his daughters and sons to continue to live in bondage once he has set us free! So let us pray pray pray for freedom from circling our mountain whatever it may be, and wisdom to know and walk with him through the steps and the journey he has already planned for us to take.