We think of the mountaintop as a stationary locale, like the way we think of physical mountains. But, as an arena of life, the mountaintops are much less predictable and much less stable.

We may find ourselves on a mountaintop experience like a mission trip or a new dating relationship or a windfall of finances. But the thrill of these is largely in their newness. And as the newness fades, so does the terrain.

The terrain of life shifts, transforming a once arid area into a wet one, a once thrilling space into a bore. One location or event or relationship that is a mountaintop on one day will eventually become a plain and someday perhaps even a valley.

If we put our trust in the circumstances of mountaintops, we will be hugely disappointed and confused when the ground seems to shift beneath our feet. Circumstances are temporary. When we adopt a false perspective that imagines they are eternal, we set ourselves up for a deep and hard fall.

Reality is the tether to which we ought to hold. Truth transcends circumstance. It is immune to the shifts and swerves of situation. The key is to acknowledge the terrain for what it is: terrain. It isn’t the answer; the terrain is simply the context in which the question is asked. The only way to avoid the hope dropping out of the bottom is to pursue truth for all that it is worth.