02/10/2019
If you have been a Christian for any period of time you more than likely have faced periods of bountiful faith, and those of withering spiritual drought as well. How easy it is to fall, and hard it is to pick ourselves back up again. Where are you at this moment? Are you standing on the mountaintop surrounded by glory, working your way towards the summit, or lying in the valley of your own despair?
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”
Philippians 4:12 ESV
The road of faith winds up the side of the mountain until it reaches the top, but that same road has two lanes; one leading us up, and the other leading back down... the sad part is that they are separated by a very thin yellow line. How hard it is to walk towards the top, and even when we are mere steps from the summit, how tempting it is to step across that line and walk briskly back down again with little effort needed. This is the challenge of our faith without our Savior walking before us, and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit within us.
“rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Colossians 2:7 ESV
I have been on some very hard hikes over the course of my life, and faced some very steep inclines. The interesting thing about those hikes is that if I had a friend at my side, the trek becomes much easier, and if I sing encouraging songs, my steps become lighter yet.
“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.”
Exodus 15:1-2 ESV
Does this sound familiar to you? Perhaps your hike wasn’t a physical one; maybe it was a mental journey, or a spiritual one, but whatever type of trek you are on, the trip to the summit is hard, and walking back down is a temptingly easy path to take. It requires great strength and resolve, or mental and spiritual fortitude, if you are to make it to the summit, and that resolve is strengthened by a coach, a companion, or words of encouragement being shouted to you from the roadside.
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV
There are many false summits along the way of our faith... these are places where we can see the top of a hill or ridge and convince ourselves that it is heaven, the throne of God, New Jerusalem... the summit of the mountain. Our step picks up, our singing increases, and our hopes climb... yet when we crest the hill we find that the trail continues upward and our hopes can be dashed. Physically this can drain us, mentally it can cause us to abandon our resolve, but spiritually it can destroy our faith and send us tumbling into the valley of despair below. Jesus takes our hand in such moments, and God’s Word and Holy Spirit sustains us in our near faint and quivering Hope.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!”
Psalms 40:1-4 ESV
So as Christians we have our great moments of faith, but we are also met with the challenges that cause us to be tempted... to consider the worthiness of this journey we are on. It is at moments such as these, the false summits, the exceptionally steep grades, the soreness and blisters on the feet of our faith, that stepping over the thin yellow line, and walking back towards the valley becomes so appealing. However, in such times we hear the Holy Spirit calling out words of encouragement, and we feel the hand of Christ in our own; and although the temptation to give up is great we turn our face upward once again and take that next painful step.
Faith is not always constant joy, it is also suffering and pain. Faith is not always certainty, it is also doubt and questioning. Faith is not always the shining light and hope we experience, but also walking through the darkness, and the discouragement of hardship. So how do we make this journey? We make it with Jesus as our salvation, our companion, with the Holy Spirit encouraging us, and by hearing the voice of God’s Word ringing from the mountaintop.
How is your journey today? Are you singing and traveling with a light step, leaning into a steep climb, or considering turning back? Wherever you are in this pilgrimage of faith do not lose sight of the summit, and take heart in the journey.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for this journey of faith you have called me to. Thank you Holy Father for your Son Jesus, my redeemer and traveling companion, and for your Holy Spirit who encourages me. Thank you for the length of this pilgrimage that strengthens the muscle and sinew of my hope as I walk, the suffering that builds my character, and the occasional disillusionment that tests the very heart of my faith. In your Word I take heart, and in your voice I am quickened and carried forward... make my hearing keen, and my eyesight sharp that I can hear your faintest call, and see your glory over every hill. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who beckons me on, and keeps me forever on the right side of the yellow line... always traveling upward toward your summit. Praised be your name, and in song hear my voice celebrating your mercy and grace. Great are you my God, and complete is your glory! In that day when I summit your mountain in the fullness of my faith, and stand before you in praise and worship, I will look back at the way I have come and thrill at every moment of this journey we have taken together... our trek from the world below to the glory that is heaven.
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Colossians 3:2 ESV
Rich Forbes