“Keep Climbing Your Mountain” (Part I)

Friday, November 12, 2021

Greetings, Dear Friends  ~

Does it ever seem to you that living your life is like climbing one big mountain after another?  I so love the mountains—taking in their beauty, climbing them, and especially, reaching the top!  (Oh, but then, there is the reality of having to travel back down!) 

The type of mountain we’re climbing will, of course, influence the journey to the top.  While ascending the mountain, we behold many things in nature—and about ourselves.  It offers sacred time for contemplation and reflection during the course.  We might consider questions such as:  Will I really reach the top?  What will it be like once I get there?  Why did I begin this climb anyway (when the climb is challenging)?  How will I feel when I have to come back down?  I am sure you can come up with a list of questions to consider!

Someone might ponder, “What is it that makes me want to climb this mountain anyway?”  The answer could simply be, “because it is there”!  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Perhaps there is something that beckons some of us to the top of the mountain.  We prepare for the climb.  We make ourselves ready.  At least, we think we are ready.  We set out on our journey only to discover, there is more work involved in the climb than we had imagined.  We question our decision to climb.  Should we have stayed home—in comfort and peace?  At least we would not have needed to expend so much energy on this climb . . . up to the top of this mountain.

We’re climbing . . . slowly making progress.  But, we are not there yet.  We look behind us.  We’ve covered a lot of territory. But, when we look ahead, we see we have such a long way to go.  Perhaps, as we ponder the journey, we become discouraged.  We don’t know if we have what it takes.  Should we turn around and go back?  We know what we left behind.  It is familiar, right?  Yet, something within us pushes us, steadily, forward.  And so, we choose to keep going.  A little weary, and a somewhat discouraged, we trudge on up the mountain!

As we continue our climb, we notice there are others traveling up the mountain as well.  We are happy to see and feel the company of others—even if at a distance! Our hearts rejoice . . . for a moment, that is!  We think about what their climb is like for them.  Are they tired?  Are they weary?  What have they left behind?  What keeps them going?  We experience a burst of hope, renewed!  We feel energized and purposed, in this moment, to reach the top.  We choose to keep going because that is what the Lord wants us to do.  Surely, He will give us what we need to climb; surely He is with us . . . .

While we climb, we continue to think about many things.  What was it like for Moses to climb the mountain, talk with God, and receive His instructions ?  What was it like when Jesus took Peter, John, and James up the high mountain (possibly Mount Hermon, north of Caesarea Philippi)) to pray? 

Luke 9:28 (NIV) reads:

 ^“About eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.” 

We don’t read of the experience of their climb—instead, the gospels record what happened once they arrived on the mount.  I want to pause and ask you this one question:  How is your climb going?

I attended a Veteran’s Day program this past week, as we honored all of our well-deserving veterans.  I thought about all they witnessed while they were on active duty—most of them World War II.  They had been on a journey that led them to various parts of the world.  While they might not have intended their lives to take the path that it did, they made choices (or were told) where they needed to go.  They could not have known how life would turn out.  None of us does.  Yet, we follow the path laid before us and trust that our steps are ordered in the Lord.

Your mountain, My Friend, is calling you.  It calls us all of our lives.  Where it leads, only the Lord knows.  God is faithful.  In Him, we can trust and depend.  So, I encourage you to keep climbing your mountain.  It is there for a reason.

Please join me next week, as we continue to explore this topic.  And may it be well with your soul.

Until next time, My Friend,  

Selah  

www.voiceandfaith.com