Today, it is my joy to invite Kristen Welch over to share an excerpt from her new book, Made to Move Mountains. Kristen is a long-time writing friend, and I think our paths crossed through old school blogging (her, We Are That Family, and me, PENSIEVE) before we both joined the contributing team for (in)courage. I had a front row seat to Kristen’s life as she launched and grew Mercy House Global, a home and ministry for pregnant young girls rescued from abuses my mind can’t begin to conceive. When you read her words here, I know you’ll want to buy this book–you’ll be challenged, and inspired, and likely moved to action.
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Have you ever sent an email or text that went unanswered? It can be confusing and even disappointing. We wait, wonder, worry. We wish we had an answer.
How do we ask God for something when our last prayer is still unanswered? It might feel as if our prayers don’t matter to him, or he isn’t listening. What do we do? We pray anyway because we are changed when we do, regardless of the outcome. We lean into Isaiah 55:8:
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
It can be overwhelming to face a mountain we want to climb or one we don’t. We have more questions than answers, and the unknown outweighs the known. We are afraid. But when we stand at the top or on the other side of it, we see that mountain in a completely different way. One day, we might even be able to thank God for it.
There are countless mountains in my rear view, and they stand as memorials of what God has done in the past and as reminders of what God will do in the future. I love these strong, beautiful words from Christine Caine:
“God is faithful. He’ll fulfill every promise he’s made. There’s no disease God cannot heal, no heart he cannot mend, no bondage he cannot break, no enemy he cannot defeat, no mountain he cannot move, and no need he cannot meet. And because that same Spirit lives inside each of us, we move forward undaunted. . . . Focus on our unshakeable God instead of the chaos around you, and he will carry you through the challenges and on to victory.”
And what is our victory exactly? I used to believe it was a perfect life. Or if I just had enough time, enough money, enough people, enough resources, I would feel victorious. But the destination isn’t our victory; faith is the victory, and not faith in the outcome or faith in another person because people will let us down. Faith in Jesus is our victory.
I was riding with my friend Shauna to a local coffee shop, and we were talking about the “easy days” I dream of. She reminded me what true victory looks like: “Keep the faith because faith IS the victory. Not faith in xyz or faith in the hope that xyz will happen. It’s faith in Jesus. I don’t believe because I see. I don’t stop believing because I don’t see.”
If Jesus doesn’t move the mountain or perform the miracle, he is still good. We praise him when he does the impossible, and we praise him when he doesn’t. In our culture and in our own carnal thinking, we often equate a successful climb with a successful outcome. But the results don’t dictate our achievements—faithfulness does.
-Excerpt from Made to Move Mountains: How God Uses Our Dreams and Disasters to Accomplish the Impossible
Kristen Welch, blogger at We are THAT family, is a bestselling author and founder of Mercy House Global. Made to Move Mountains released March 3, 2020. Excerpted from Made to Move Mountains by Kristen Welch. Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Copyright 2020. Used with permission. www.BakerPublishingGroup.com.