Mountain Claimer: The Power of Putting Your Vision to Paper By Pastor Ron McKey
Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV – “Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.”
Write the Vision
There's something about writing your vision and keeping it before your eyes that makes it powerful. We are all guilty of asking God for something and then forgetting about it. As a result, we don't pursue the things we pray for.
But God wants you to write down what you want Him to do in your life. Be specific about the vision you have for your life. It may not happen overnight or even next year, but it will come to pass if you don’t give up on the promises of God.
Something happens when you put your faith down on paper. Great things happen when you take the time to declare your vision and keep it posted before your eyes. We sometimes need to be reminded of what we're doing because we have this tendency to forget that we even prayed for it.
The Bible is filled with stories of people who had forgotten what God said He was going to do. They forgot how good God had been to them and forgot His promises. They forgot what they even prayed for because we all have this fatal attraction to distraction. I believe this is one of the enemy's primary tools for getting us off track.
We get so busy doing other things that we get our minds off what God is doing or wanting to do in our lives. But writing down your vision keeps you focused, believing, and standing on the promises of God. It constantly reminds you.
Mark 11:22-23 NKJV – So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
This scripture speaks of moving whatever obstacle rears its head in your path. God says we are to speak to whatever has stopped us from going forward. We are to pray that it be removed from our lives. We all have mountains we need to move. It may be a mountain of debt, addiction, hurt, a relational mountain, or a circumstance with which you’ve been battling. But sometimes we need to lay claim to a mountain. The mountain represents the promises of God.
Joshua 14:10-12 NKJV – “And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”
Caleb had been holding on to God’s promise for forty-five years. He had been laying claim to this mountain for over four decades. When Israel came out of Egypt, they spent forty years in the desert getting to the promised land. But earlier in that time, twelve spies went into the land. All the other spies came back and described the area as a no-go. But two spies – Joshua and Caleb – believed in God’s promise.
Caleb is proof that you’re never too old to believe in God or ask Him for a blessing in your life. There's no expiration date on anything that God has promised you. So, you're never too old to have a dream. With God, all things are possible. God does the giving, and we do the taking. God had given the promised land to Israel. But Israel still had to go into that city and fight the giants. They still had to fight for everything they got.
One preacher said that God provides worms for birds, but He doesn’t shove them down their throats. In other words, we have a part to play in God’s promises for our lives, and God has His part. The Book of James reminds us that faith without works is dead.
The route to the fulfilment of God’s blessings for our lives can be compared to our two legs. One leg represents faith, and the other represents your work. And every time faith takes a step, works have to do the same. Faith and actions go together to fulfil the miraculous things that happen in your life.
Sometimes you must have endurance added to your faith because you can give up too early. Israel still had to fight battles to possess the promises of God. Someone once said that there are 7,000 promises in the Word of God, and every one of them is obtained by faith. Whatever you want God to do for you today, write it down and believe that He will make it happen. All things come through faith.
I John 5:14-15 NKJV – “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
When You Pray
When you pray according to the Word of God, you lay claim to His promise. If you want something from God this year, you'll have to pursue it. You'll have to lay claim to it and fight for it. You can't just sit back and receive it because there's no faith without conviction.
There's no such thing as calm, quiet, or middle-of-the-road faith. You either have faith or you don’t. If your faith doesn't move your mouth, it won't move your mountain. So, it's time we start walking, talking, and living by faith. You have to believe that God rewards those who diligently seek Him because if you don't claim it, then you won't obtain it.
Out of the three million Jews who came out of Egyptian bondage, only Caleb and Joshua went into the promised land. Everyone else had given up on the promise. They had doubted God and disqualified themselves. But Caleb and Joshua believed God. So, they went the distance with their faith.
Take the time to write down some of the things you're believing God for this year, and even beyond the year. Write down what you want to see happen in your life. This is the promise you’re claiming or the blessing that you’re asking for. You might also want to write down the mountains you want to move out of your life. Use your faith as you write the vision you have for your life.
There are things we ought to be asking God for this year, and the first is our homes. Joshua professed that his house would serve God. And in that same spirit, we should believe for our homes to be places where the peace of God resides and where good things happen. You might want to pray for your family or believe in God for your health.
Pray for your church, your city, and a deeper walk with God. Write down whatever it is you're believing God for. When was the last time you put your faith out there to believe God for something big? Your prayers don’t need to be small. Pray for that big thing that seems impossible; take the risk.
David risked it all to fight Goliath. Elijah laid it all on the line when he stood against the 450 prophets of Baal. Esther risked it all to appear before the king. Peter risked it all to walk on water. The disciples risked it all to follow Jesus. So, you may be wounded, hurt, disillusioned, and discouraged, but I want to encourage you to get back in the fight. Don't ever quit. Don't give up on your marriage or surrender to an addiction. Don't walk away from God. Believe in His promises for your life.
Sometimes we quit too soon and need to be encouraged. I want to let you know that the devil cannot take you out. If Satan has a plan to take you out, God has a plan to keep you in. Psalms 30 tells us that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. It may be the darkest moment of your life right now, but that just means good things are on the way.
Zechariah 9:12 NKJV – Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
Now, a prisoner is usually chained to something or they're at a place they cannot escape. So, God is saying we should be chained to hope. We should have a mindset that says, “I cannot escape this by myself, but I believe God is going to work it out.” We should have an attitude that says, “I know it's hard, but it just means I'm closer than I was. I can't help but believe God because I'm a prisoner of hope.”
You need to start getting used to telling people that your vision is going to happen. Even though you don't know when or how it's going to happen, you need to believe that you’re not going to live in your circumstance forever. You will overcome. I need you to tell yourself this and believe it. You’re not going to be sick, broke, or unhappy forever. Your circumstances are not going to last forever. God will get you through to the other side, just as He promised.
Philippians 3:14 NKJV – I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Be a Mountain Claimer!
Three types of people go up the mountain – the base camp believers, halfway uppers, and mountain claimers. The base camp believers are people who just go to church but never really grow. They never start a spiritual journey, and they seem to stay in the same place. Today I'm here to remind you that there's something more.
The halfway uppers are the people who have gone to that next level. But maybe because they were wounded, disappointed, discouraged, or felt like God let them down, they have just given up on faith. They no longer have that drive, passion, or desire for God.
The mountain claimers never stop believing God, walking by faith, and living by faith. And when they win one battle, they move on to the next one. They don’t put their armor into spiritual retirement. These are the type of people who keep facing whatever comes in their life and moving forward. Strive to become that person. And as you move forward, keep writing down your vision for the next level. Today, I want you to keep claiming new territory and new victories!