Have you ever had a God moment where you truly felt just how small and powerless you are in the light of how almighty and sovereign He is?

Very recently, Sam and I have had friends from our church spending the summer in Washington for some medical treatments a couple hours drive from where we live. Since I’ve been couch-bound with our newborn, Lily, for the last month, we were chomping at the bit to get out of the house and go somewhere, and we decided a day trip to get some lunch with them was perfect.

So now that we’ve seen how Jesus’ Kingdom-minded reaction with the fig tree was illustrated in the real-life cleansing of the Temple, let’s return back to the fig tree. In fact, scripture takes this same journey; it doesn’t leave any loose end open. After Jesus travelled to the temple and called out the manipulation that was allowed to take root in His Father’s house, they went back out of the city to where they were staying. The next morning, Jesus and His disciples travelled back to Jerusalem. Along the way, Peter and the disciples saw the same fig tree that enraged Jesus the day before. Except today, this tree no longer gave the appearance of a healthy plant. A mere 24 hours later, this same tree was not just leaf-less or fruit-less– the Bible says it was completely withered– it was dry, shriveled, and completely devoid of life.

If you’ve ever seen a picture of Cape Town, chances are you’ve noticed Table Mountain, a gigantic, flat-topped mountain that provides the backdrop to hands-down my favorite city on the planet. Back in 2015, I was living, going to school, and serving on a missions trip in the mother city, when my mom and grandma surprised me with a 10-day visit. By that time, I had been there for months, and I had climbed other mountains, but I hadn’t yet gone to the summit of one of the seven natural wonders of this world.