#EN2010 Afterglow: How to Land Safely

Pastor Jojo Henson of Malaysia said something that got stuck in my head yesterday in Victory Caloocan. He mentioned in passing how Peter asked Jesus if they could make tents in the Mount of Transfiguration so they could stay there with Moses and Elijah. You’ve probably heard this a dozen times already but in light of the excitement and afterglow of the EN2010, I think this message never gets old. The idea is that Peter was so overwhelmed with the presence of two prominent Old Testament figures that he wondered aloud if they could just stay there and bask in the glory of the moment.

There was nothing wrong with the request. Peter probably did it in good faith, I mean, who wouldn’t want to just sit back and enjoy the glory of God’s presence? If it were me, I would probably feel the same way as Peter. The fact is that whenever we experience something glorious, our natural tendency is to hold on to it and never let it go.

But as much as we want to make the moment last, a time always comes when we have to step down from our high moments and get assimilated back to our daily realities. EN2010 concluded with a loud bang for most of us. Yesterday, Metro Manila churches enjoyed an extended time with some international delegates as they spent their Sunday with us. The mountain ends there though. Today, a day after all the flurry of activities, we’re back to our offices, to our work stations, to the normalcy of the daily grind. It’s time to roll up our sleeves again and deal with our backlogs.

As I think about these things, I am reminded of Acts 1: 8 and Matthew 28: 19: Jesus said that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses… therefore go and make disciples…”

Powerful encounters with God are meant to fuel us to love God more. They’re meant to drive us to action, to go and carry out His mandate with fresh fire and fresh revelation, not so we could sit back and just enjoy the glow. No, there’s a heaven for that kind of stuff. The sooner we understand that, the lesser the frustration we’ll feel. I’ve seen countless young men and women attend conferences and come home feeling like they are ready to take on the world. Some of them were even so fired up with the euphoria that they vowed to go into full time ministry. When they attend church the first Sunday after the conference, the sing the loudest and cry the hardest. Reality sets in after two or three weeks though. They come down from the mountain and face the gritty realities of the daily grind. Life’s back to normal again.

How are we to land safely then? I mean, after the exhilarating flight of our spirits, after the so-called foretaste of heaven, how do we touch down gracefully? I couldn’t find much clue in the story except the fact that Jesus walked with them on their way down the mountain. Jesus never rebuked Peter’s ignorant prayer to make three shelters. He perfectly understood why Peter longed for that permanence in a glorious place. But He had to take them to the real world again so they could get on with their jobs and their ministries and their callings.

It is such a comfort that the God who shows us His great power and glory is the same God who will walk with us as we go down to the normal, ordinary details of our days. He is alongside us the moment we got back to our work today. He is not just a God of the mountains or the valleys. He is God everywhere.