Exodus 19:1-3a

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt —on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord God called to him from the mountain…

During their journey, the Children of Israel came to the Desert of Sinai where they set up camp for a time. They became quite content with camping out at the base of Mount Sinai while Moses went up to the high places to meet with God. Moses was a Worship Revolutionist. He was willing to give up to go up (give up everything to go up the mountain and be with God). Are we willing to give up our comfort to go up and meet with God like Moses did? God spoke the secrets of His heart to Moses in the high places. God showed Moses a glimpse of who He was on the mountaintop. Moses had a God encounter while the others lived their familiar normal lives at the base.

It was not an easy job for Moses to climb Mt. Sinai to meet with God. Climbing to the top of a 7,500ft mountain where the air is thin is no small feat for anyone, but for an eighty year old man, I would think it would be quite a task. Moses could have opted out of this difficult journey and stayed in the comfort of the base camp, but he chose to rise to the challenge of climbing the mountain. Sometimes we have to leave our comfort and step out onto the rocky places that are difficult to navigate, in order to be used by God. If you visit Mt. Sinai today, you will find coffee shops along the mountainside. These shops provide hikers with a much needed break as they journey to the top. Many hikers do not even make it to the top because exhaustion gets the best of them. It is easy to see how the comfort of “base camp” would be appealing to the Children of Israel. It is easier to relax surrounded by the comforts of camp at the bottom of the mountain, than climb to the top. Lazy and content with an intoxicating life of entertainment, hobbies, and socializing, the Children of Israel missed the presence of the Creator God revealing Himself in the high places. What is worse is that they did not even know they were missing the encounter of a lifetime.

I wonder how many of us live the same type of life as the Children of Israel, camping out at the base of the greatest adventure we could ever imagine. Walking around, day by day, keeping busy, and wondering through life with no real sense of where God is. As children, we start life with a curiosity to explore. As we get older, exploration can turn into apathy, and apathy turns into entropy. Not just physically but spiritually as well. We start to settle rather than pioneer.

Worship Revolutionists are pioneers, blazing new trails, and always on the move for God. We hear stories of these pioneers, like Moses, who have gone up the mountain. We see their passion, discipline, and their faith. We stop and wonder what it would be like to give it all and go. But then we calm ourselves back down into what we call, “Reality.” We never step up the mountain. We have gotten comfortable at base camp. We have found ways to entertain ourselves and keep our minds from spiritual wonder. We have learned how to make average feel like greatness.

~ Taken from my book, “The Worship Revolution“