God has laid out signs in the world for us to learn from; one of them is a mountain. Jesus said, ‘Have Faith in God. I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt it’ll be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And if you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that you Father in heaven may forgive your sins. Mark 11:22-25

Now what is a mountain? I’ve been struggling to understand this scripture over the years, but by God’s grace now I do.   This is how the holy spirit has helped to interpret this. We all know, a mountain is normally built by layers of soil, rocks, and stones. When we look at it we are overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. Take Everest for example, it is scary!  Some people try to climb, but with so much pain. That means handling a mountain brings pain. But for many of us we decide to be observers by keeping a distance. We do this because we fear the consequences. So, that means we use God given wisdom that there is no need to climb a mountain.

Okay; let’s go back to the question; what mountain is Jesus talking about? Many of us are busy building mountains in our lives. How do we do it?  By sinning.  As you know, it begins with a thought and it goes to actions. The more we think about it, the more we build it up, and the more we act upon it, the bigger it becomes. Building normally starts at young age.  We all know teenagerhood is when we break away from the rules, before that our state of mind has a good sense of innocence.

So, building a mountain takes a day or years, which means when we involve ourselves in any kind of sin and it becomes a habit, we are on Mt. Everest – dangerous grounds and the consequence are inevitable.  We live in chaotic world, where hatred has become a mountain for some people.  And when that happens the turmoil descends on those people who embrace those kind of attitudes, e.g. wars, fear, etc.

A wrong religion is also a huge mountain; when Jesus said, he is the only truth we can rely on, he knew the consequences of false preaching are catastrophic.  Evolution theory is a scary mountain, and many are building on it.  Lack of faith is another scary mountain; guess what, there is no hope with this kind of attitude.  And when the love of money consumes your life more than anything else, you are on mount Everest.  Money issues have created a lot of mountains, e.g. envy, wrong desires, debt issues, depression, etc. that’s why Jesus said, the love of money is the root of all evil.

The internet, drug addictions, binge drinking, etc.  have created negative influences which are ready to erupt. God Almighty has given us life; we have a responsibility for our lives.  How you look after your body is your responsibility, and if you want to enjoy life, build well.  Jesus advises us how to become excellent builders.  When God gave Noah the instructions to build the ark, he was thinking about Jesus.  So, that means, when you build your life according to Jesus’s teachings you’re sorted.

I read a scripture in the old testament, which explains our sins as a mountain. (I can’t remember where, but I’ll look it up).  So, that’s why Jesus says, a mountain in our lives can be removed by faith, which also means we can use Biblical scriptures to remove any hindrances in our lives.  A hindrance is a sin that stops a person from prospering the way God wants them to be.  A sin stops us from enjoying a peaceful life.  A sin is like a volcano waiting to erupt. That’s why God wants us to examine our lives and make changes, and to think about the consequences.

Another way to look at the mountain is a situation which is difficult to handle.  Many of us get those, and we feel the problem is permanent, whatever we do, it is not going anywhere – immovable. But Jesus says, when you believe that God will take away problems, you become happier; but you also have to understand when he says, throw the problem in the sea.  I believe it means, a problem or difficult situation can be submerged in water – dissolved.  And that means if you can’t solve it, don’t think about it; give it to God, and focus on being a good person, then you’ll enjoy life.  And when it is submerged, God gives you strength, so that you don’t get overwhelmed by it.  I’m talking from experience.