How Do You Climb a Mountain?

Do you run straight up the side of the mountain to the top in one brisk run?

What if you walk along the trails, also known as switchbacks making your way to the top? For those of you who don’t know what the word switchback means – It’s kind of like zigzagging your way up the mountainside.

I have never known anyone to run straight up the side of a mountain and reach the top. Any mountain climb I have ever done was done walking in a zigzag formation as we made our way up the mountainside. I have seen mountain climbers on television, but even those guys aren’t running up the side of the mountain. They are methodically walking or climbing up the summit.

Now picture climbing a mountain as going thru life. Your typical mountain is made up of many things – things like trees, rocks, paths, pitfalls, waterfalls, animals, overgrowth, and sometimes beautiful flowers. Along the trail, you will find many of these items. Some of them will be in your way, and you’ll have to climb over them. Some are no obstruction to your journey at all. When we come across these obstructions along the trail, we climb over them, and we walk through them or around them. We figure out how to get by so we can keep making our way to the top, the summit. We don’t come to a big boulder and decide its too big to climb around and turn around and go home. Do you get the mental picture of what I’m saying here?

Do you? Great!

It’s the same thing in life. Life can be like climbing a mountain, and the obstructions along the path are the very things in our lives that try and keep us from making progress. That great big boulder could be depression. It could be the loss of a loved one, an illness, a lost job, the loss of a friendship, a difficult marriage, or a teenager. You name it! We all have some kind of boulders in our lives, keeping us from making progress on our climb up the mountain.

Can I suggest to you that the enemy, the devil, loves putting big boulders in our way? He hates to see us make progress. The enemy especially hates it when we do anything that helps us drawer closer to Jesus Christ. He will go out of his way to make our lives difficult, to discourage us from making that mountain climb.

Let’s get one thing clear. I am in no way suggesting our climb to the top is to glorify ourselves. I’m talking about climbing to the top in a metaphorical sense. As we draw closer and closer to God, the enemy will do his best to discourage you by throwing boulders (problems) in your way to keep you distracted and busy. If the enemy can keep you busy looking down, he can keep you from looking up – to the Father. Our enemy can keep you from seeing the top. On top of my mountain is where God resides. The Lord is the top for me, and I attempt to draw closer to him every day by taking steps toward Him.

What do we do?

Hebrews 10:19-23 “Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God, with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water. let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

Oh God, thank you for your faithfulness and help us every day to draw closer to you. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.