The seashore, coastline and beaches are awesome, but I really love the big mountain ranges. John Muir once referred to them as “the most impressive of all the terrestrial manifestations of God”. The massive walls of granite and endless variety of scenery surprises me and leaves me breathlessly in awe of God’s creativity. If you have ever driven over the Tioga Pass road in Yosemite National Park you know what I mean.

Yet the mountains can also be really scary. Years ago while backpacking with a friend in the eastern Sierra, we got caught in an early, thundering snowstorm in mid-October. After getting snowed on all night, we decided to hike out early as we were not prepared to weather through. On the way back, as we crossed an 11,000 foot pass, we noticed that the metal frames of our backpacks would buzz slightly right before each lightning strike hit the peaks to our left and our right. You have never seen two guys carrying big packs move so quickly to get to lower ground and safety on the other side!

One of the things I love most about the mountains is that the closer you get, the bigger and more majestic you realize they are. It is one thing to admire their peaks from far off but another altogether to get up close and personal. I find the same principle at work in my relationship with God. In some ways it is easier to relate to God from a distance, admire his majesty and watch his love at work in others. But Jesus never called us to be spectators in his kingdom; he calls us to know him intimately, up close and personal as co-laborers and friends of God. Though it can be scary as well (you mean I have to die to myself?) the wonderful truth is that the closer you get the bigger you realize He is and the smaller your own problems become in the shadow of His love, mercy and grace.

I was reminded of this during my recent issue with cancer. When I was first diagnosed, fear was right there on my doorstep knocking on my door begging to enter. Fear is one of the primary ways the enemy works to defeat us – by causing us to doubt the depth of God’s love for us. But we have a choice. We do not have to open that door. The Psalmist points to the answer…
“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34.3-4)

The phrase “magnify the Lord” is interesting. The word “magnify” means “making something appear bigger” which we do by drawing closer instead of pulling away when life’s inevitable problems and challenges come along. This is what worship and prayer does – it changes our perspective so that we become more aware of how BIG our God is and how much He love us! And we do not do this alone but we “exalt his name together” in community with the family of God. As we draw closer to Jesus we will inevitably grow closer and learn to encourage and support each other as well.
I sensed the continual prayers of God’s people as I faced my own challenge of cancer (including the payers of my surgeon who turned out to be a fellow believer in Christ!) I praise God that I am now cancer-free, but like Psalmist, I am just as grateful that he “delivered me from all my fears.”
When we draw close and see how big and how powerful our God is, we never have a reason to fear.