Last night, I stayed up too late watching a show about climbing Mount Everest. Let me first say that I balk at climbing the hill every morning on my way to walk the girls to school, so mountain climbing is like, the last thing on my list of things I want to do. Right below get a root canal and drill a hole in my head.
Still, it was fascinating to watch people who know what they’re doing make their way to the top. It was freezing and dark and they had all this stuff they had to carry. One man was battling a stomach virus. And at nearly 28,000 feet, they could hardly breathe. At one point, one of them said that the key is to look no further than your feet. Really? That’s the key? Because I thought the key might be take a crazy pill and wash it down with a glass full of Superman juice.
They reached the summit just before dawn. But when the narrator darkly announced that is only half the climb and the descent is more dangerous than the ascent, I turned it off. The only kind of mountain descent I want to see is on one of these.
This morning, I read in Habakkuk chapter 3, where even in the midst of great despair, the writer admits that the Lord is the origin of strength. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights (v. 19).
Then, in one of my favorite devotional books, Jesus Lives, Sarah Young says this:
Awareness of your need for Me is what creates a strong connection to My Presence. My Power flows into you continually: It gives you strength to take the next step, strength to resist discouragement and despair, strength to know Me in intimate dependence…Though the way before you may be steep and rocky, it is nonetheless the path of Life. It is where you encounter My luminous Presence – radiating peace that transcends all understanding.
As crazy as those mountain climbers seem to me, perhaps we have more in common than I first thought.
I love the phrase…”to know Me in intimate dependence.” You don’t hear nowadays of people trying to become dependent. But in this case, dependence is all we need, right? Definitely, what we strive for…Beautiful post.
perfect for me to read this morning. on my way to a funeral.
Great thought provoking post. Blessings to you.
beautiful post. I needed it this morning..thank you and have a blessed day!
Before I met my husband, he was a rock climber and a mountain climber. He has been to Nepal and climbed the 2nd highest peak but never Everest. I look at the photos in awe, how easy he and his friends make it all seem. I know from his accounts, the fear, the health issues (my husband had so little oxygen, his brain began to swell and he had to descend, but then went back to make it to the top days later), and I know it’s right in line with anyone’s spiritual journey. Lovely post.
One of my favorite quotes from Elisabeth Elliot is “just do the next thing”.
They are right in some small way, of just taking that next step of faith. One step at a time, especially when the path seems blurry. God directs the steps of those who commit their way unto him.
Thanks Emily, as always you are a conduit of faith, passing on that life giving water of our Lord and Savior, helping your sisters follow after Jesus, keeping us focused on the LORD.
Missed not having Tuesday Unwrapped last week. And for once in a long while I had a post all ready for it!
Hope you had a great Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year celebration.
My father-in-law watched that Everest program last night too! It’s a pretty powerful representation of the walk of faith. Love this post!
What an amazing post!
I have always imagined that doing one of those hikes was akin to having a death wish. Putting that alongside the commitment it takes to choose to follow Jesus WHEREVER HE LEADS… definitely something to think about.
We’re all crazy, all of us on our treks. . . sometimes on our seemingly insurmountable climbs.
Thank God we know the Guide, else the stumblings could be killing, huh?
I think that living a life of faith is a combination of being faithful to take the next step and being able to look ahead in anticipation of what is to come, to believe in the promises of God-with-us. I think the devotional is saying that, too – there’s the next step, and then there’s resisting discouragement and despair, which, for me at least, seem more long-term than the next step.
I think living in that day-to-day next step relationship with God can bring an amazing closeness, but I also think that it can lack depth. So I think we need both day-to-day and faithful anticipation, if that makes sense.
What a thought provoking post…thank you as always!
Oh, I have a long way to go. Thanks for inspiring me with your writing to stay on the right path. Happy New Year!
oh my friend – I needed that right about now. Feeling like this climb has been going on for a year (hmm…I think it has), and I’m never going to reach the top.
Good thing, He is my navigator cuz my GPS surely isn’t getting me where I want to go.
This has been said already in the previous comments, but thank you Emily, I really needed that today. Just back from Christmas in Disney World, of all places. Feeling disappointed in how easily I fell from the path when faced with such shallow distractions — it was Christmas, and I totally forgot about God…no lie! I’m writing about it tonight, and your post has helped clarify some thoughts for me. Thank you!
really makes you think. i’m glad we’re not navigating and climbing through life alone–and that’s comforting and strengthening in itself.
I love this devotional.It’s the best.
Wonderful reminder. Jesus is in it all with us. Especially the uphill climbing.
Such a wise, beautiful quote Emily. I find that if I look too far ahead I am overtaken by fear and worry. He gives grace and strength for each step, and I must be careful not to run ahead of Him.
I loved the picture of looking no further than your feet. I get tripped up so often by trying to figure out how the next five years (or whatever) are going to work out. Maybe I *could* climb my Everests if I just focused on right here, right now.