Jesus walked with three of His disciples to the place we know as Transfiguration Mountain. There, He transfigured before them, an experience so life-changing, Peter wanted to build a tent and stay forever. However, just after this mountaintop experience, Jesus took the disciples down to the valley where the demon-tormented young man, the skeptic crowd, and the faithless disciples awaited.

A STARK CONTRAST

This is precisely the lesson Jesus wants us to learn from this experience. Oswald Chambers states in his devotional, My Utmost for His Highest:

We have all had times on the mount, when we have seen things from
God’s standpoint and have wanted to stay there; but God will never
allow us to stay there. The test of our spiritual lives is the power
to descend. — October 1 - The Sphere of Exaltation.

We all need days in which we go away to be refreshed. Even Jesus needed time alone in the wilderness. He knew His disciples needed those mountaintop experiences, too. For that reason, "Jesus took (them) up a high mountain, where they were all alone" (Mark 9:2).

Our time on the mountain and our deep experiences with God, are not an end in themselves, but merely preparation for our return to the broken lives, families, cities, and nations where we live and minister.

PERSONAL TRANSFIGURATION

The good news is when we meet God at the top of the mountain, we always come back a different person. God did something in us while we were with Him. His words to Jeremiah can become ours,

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and
said to me, 'Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today
I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.'
— Jeremiah 1:9-10

Because we are changed from of our time with God, we can make a difference in the world Christ died for.

by Al VomSteeg