Mountains & Molehills
Have you ever been vacuuming and found yourself tangled up in the cord so frustrated that you had to stomp your way out of it? Or have you ever gone to the store knowing exactly what you want, only to discover that they’re sold out and your perfect plans have failed? Or have you ever taken your children out to eat with friends, hoping for their well-behaved manner, just to spend the whole dinner repeating the words, “stop” or “just a minute”? Or have you ever told your children that losing a video game doesn’t define them, leaving them staring at you like you just said the dumbest thing ever? Last, but not least, have you ever just got so easily annoyed with the star of God’s creation…people? All of these scenarios may seem trivial while just reading them on a screen, but when you’re in the middle of it, you’re just instantly frustrated!
I don’t know about you, but when this emotional, mind-numbing reaction called frustration enters my world, I instantly just want to stop, drop, and give up. I’m totally aware of the fact that I can completely lose myself, forgetting I have patience for this, faith for this, strength for this, and wisdom for this. Thankfully, God in all His grace, always leads me to drop my booty in my favorite reading spot to open His Word. There are stories in scripture that constantly remind me of His grace. I have read through the book of Zechariah three times with new inspirations and challenges introducing themselves to me like a new friend each time. I wrote about Zechariah 4 in an earlier post, but with new seasons comes new growth, so I’m going to revisit it.
“What are you, mighty mountain?” is a question asked in Zechariah 4. These words brought much encouragement, I’m sure, to God’s people who were rebuilding the temple during the time this book was written. I can imagine that such a huge project like this could’ve led to many frustrating moments. Yet, the question is a sign of confidence that nothing—not even frustration—could stand in their way of accomplishing the task. For myself, these words bring to mind the phrase, “Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill.” Apparently, from the scenarios that I’ve personally lived through, I tend to do exactly what this phrase says not to do. Make a mountain out of a mole hill. After reading the verse and stepping back to evaluate my reactions, I/we have everything needed to step up to frustration and say, “What are you, mighty mountain?” Our frustrations may seem like mountains at the time, but they can be overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit working through us. Rewind one verse before and Zechariah receives these powerful words in the same vision, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty.” We can’t force them away, nor can we overcome them on our own. Overthinking and telling ten different people about our frustrations never fixed anything either—that’s how mole hills become mountains.
Overcoming negative reactions toward frustration may seem like an insignificant growth step when walking out our salvation, but a couple verses later in chapter 4, another great question is asked, “Who despises the day of small things?” Some thought that the work on the temple was insignificant; however, nothing that is done with the blessing of God and in the power of His spirit can be deemed insignificant. It’s just a matter of being faithful with the task, continuing in each step. It’s a daily task, and if something doesn’t go well, then try again. Don’t let the mole hill of frustration stop us like that of a mountain. Any rebuilding, any growth, and any pruning that is done for the glory of God is found significant in His eyes and His plans for us. God can do as much through our little growth steps as He can with our big ones.
The more we grow in our faith, the smaller that mighty mountain of frustration becomes. When frustration does come, we can look at it and step over it with the help of the Holy Spirit, moving on with our task to bring more glory to God.
What is your mighty mountain? Say to it, “you’re just a mole hill!”