It feels good to be on the mountaintop. As believers, we love that feeling: God’s presence all around us; God’s power surging within us. On those days, we’re absolutely fearless. No doubts. No hesitation. No challenge can slow us down. It’s like there’s nothing we can’t do.

Then all of a sudden, something (someone?) shows up and threatens to take it all away from us. Some new crisis emerges; and instantly, we forget all about God’s power. We forget about what God has done for us in the past. One moment, we’re standing on top of the mountain. The next moment, we’re digging our fingernails into the ledge, hanging on for dear life. Alone and afraid.

Sound familiar?

Why do we do this? Why do we constantly ping-pong back-and-forth between the extremes of faith and fear? Because we’re human. So, what’s the answer? If we can’t stay on the faith mountaintop all the time, is there perhaps some way that we can at least avoid falling prey to worry and discouragement every time we feel threatened?

Maybe the answer has less to do with our emotions and more to do with our purpose. When God met the frightened prophet Elijah in the wilderness, he didn’t tell him not to be afraid. He told him to forget about his feelings for a moment, and to focus on doing what God had called him to do. Sometimes, that’s all we need to help us overcome fear and get us moving again.