Mountain Climbing

Matthew 11:28-30 – Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (KJV)

Years ago as a teenager, I was at a Bible camp in the Rocky Mountains. It was beautiful there. We hiked to a nearby cave; we walked along a crystal-clear, green lake; we were exhilarated by the clouds coming down over the mountains — something we had never seen on the prairies.

The highlight for me, though, was climbing a mountain — all the way to the top. It was a semi-cloudy day when we loaded into a van to drive a few miles to the base of the mountain. We were all excited to get going, and soon were on the upward climb. It was very hard work. I wanted to quit many times, but my friends would urge me on. Finally, after several hours, we reached the top. Oh! the beauty of it! The splendour! It was absolutely breath-taking. We could look around and see the tops of lower mountains. We could look around and see taller mountains. We could see the clouds floating around beneath us as well. We could look down the mountain to see where we had come from and were amazed at the steepness, the roughness, and the hard paths we had come on.

We were content just where we were — at the top of the mountain chosen by the camp director for us to climb. We relaxed and took in the beauty of all the scenery. We sat and soaked in the sun shining down on us. At the same time, we were amazed that we had really made it. We had conquered that one mountain that day.

Recently, I have thought about that experience. All of us have mountains to climb. Each one is a different height, but we must climb them. There is no shortcut in getting to the top. When we do get to the top, we can look back and see the journey we have been on. We can see how steep it was; we can see how rugged it was; we can see how rough it was.

There are so many different mountains to climb: fear, sickness, abuse, rejection, death of a loved one, denial, betrayal. The list can go on and on. We can choose to stay at the bottom of the mountain. "Things" in life can keep us there, but life will be cloudy. We can also choose to climb the mountains. After all the hard work of climbing through abuse or rejection or betrayal, we can relax and enjoy the Son shining upon us at the top of the mountain. We can bask in the warmth of His love. Then we will know it was worth it all.

Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (KJV)

Prayer: Oh, Lord Jesus, it is so hard climbing a mountain. If it were only one mountain we had to climb, we could spur ourselves on to do that. But it seems that we no sooner reach the summit of one than we have to start all over on another one. Maybe the next one is even taller and more rugged, but we must keep going in order to bask in Your Sonlight. Thank You that You are always with us. You will never leave us nor forsake us. You know the path that we must trod and You're saying, "Come to Me and You will find rest for Your souls." Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share this devotional on Facebook     Like PresbyCan on Facebook