“..they came down from the mountain…” (Matt. 17:9)
The disciples had just been invited to witness one of the most spectacular sights recorded in all the Bible! They personally witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but they also witnessed the appearance of Moses and Elijah, who stood with Jesus and spoke to him.
This scene had to have been the most exciting thing they had ever witnessed. No doubt it was easy for the disciples to shout while they were up on the mount of transfiguration. But then (v.9) says “they came down from the mountain” and almost immediately they encountered the devil at work.
I don’t know about you but I love mountain-top experiences. I love it when God leads us up high in a church service and we experience His presence in a real way. And part of me wishes I could live up on the mountain and bask in that spiritual high every day. But that is not God’s way. We cannot always live on an emotional high.
The danger in constantly seeking an emotional high is that you will go from place to place, following after this preacher or that preacher, never really being satisfied. Don’t go to church seeking an emotion. Go to church seeking God, then let Him give you the emotion you should have. Some services you may be led to shout, but other services you may be led by God to weep over your sin. You see, it’s not about how high you jump on Sunday, but how straight you walk on Monday that matters.
The disciples were not supposed to STAY up on the mountain. They eventually had to come back down. God doesn’t give us mountain-top experiences to LIVE ON, but to LEARN FROM. The disciples were to take their VISION from the mountain back down into the VALLEY.
We all love the mountain-top, but the reality is…at some point (just like the disciples), we have to come “down from the mountain.” Thank God He gives us times up on the mountain, but the test of true Christianity is not how long we SHOUT up on the mountain, but how much we SHINE down in the valley!