Years ago our family lived in Switzerland. I'll never forget one idyllic afternoon I spent on a mountaintop. The only thing I heard was the sound of silence. The air was clean and sweet. As I lay on the grass, I became still and sensed God's presence in a special way. It was good, even glorious, being there away from people and alone with Him. I longed to cling to this experience and resisted going back down to civilization. I recalled Peter's similar reaction on another mountain when Jesus was transfigured before his eyes.

No wonder Peter wanted to stay there. Although his mountaintop experience far exceeded mine, I knew what my response needed to be. Like Peter, I needed to come down from the mountain and return, refreshed, to a multitude of needy people.

I once heard a preacher say, "Great experiences must bring us back to everyday life. They must be related to the heartbreaks of people. Mountaintops don't mean anything without the valleys."

If you're weary from your labors in the valley, the Lord may be saying to you, "Come aside . . . and rest a while" (Mk. 6:31). But if you're on a mountaintop, don't stay there. God wants to work through you in other people's lives.  — Joanie Yoder