Never Give Up

There are times in life when things seem impossibly all uphill. But good things come to those who climb.

A few years back while living alone at a remote Christian Retreat Center, I felt called to climb the mountain behind my cabin. My health had been on a mysterious downward spiral and I was exhausted, scared, and uninsured when I felt the Lord asking me to climb. For weeks as I looked up at the single tree atop the mountain, I inwardly grumbled to God about this unreasonable request and my declining health. But as is His way, He persisted.

Easter morning arrived, the appointed day of the climb. I set out from the river’s edge with food and water, journal, and camera. Marching upward I passed through the area I’d nicknamed Gethsemane, with its twisted trees, hidden springs, and rocky crevices. The trail ran out from there, nothing left but steep earth. My body was whining excuses to give up when the Lord whispered grace… Three more steps.

Thus I traded climbing mountains for a journey of small steps. Many rests, pictures, sips and snacks, and three steps later I found myself staring down at the tiny cabin that was my home. God had helped me do that which I believed impossible.

So if you find yourself looking up at a mountain in your own life, remember this… There’s a way that you haven’t considered, and there’s One who knows the way. It’s much simpler than you realize for Him who is more than able.

…those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. ~ Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

Amen.