Don't look at the rock...

So…in light of the epic MAN TRIP ’09 I just took, I just had a couple thoughts I wanted to write on in this little bit of internet space I get to enjoy. I spend a lot of my time going up things, and coming back down, to put it simply. I bike up hills (which are somehow, pretty much my favorite and strongest aspect of cycling) and bike back down them. I ride ski lifts way up mountains, only to snowboard back down them. I hike to the heights of God’s creation, only to yet again venture back down. Suffice it to say, all of this brings to the front of my mind a nice analogy that I heard one time from Pastor Hagee I believe. He simply talked about how God created nature and he continues to point out that on mountain peaks we find no life- no vegetation (assuming the mountain is tall enough), but rather that we find lush abundance that we desire in the valleys by the riverbeds. His simple point? Life is found in the valleys. Growth is born there. While mountain top experiences carry a great significance to each and every one of us, you must readily admit that we are not meant to stay there and that without the growth found in the valleys leading up to it, it would not even be slightly the same. It is for this very reason that Paul advises us to rejoice in our sufferings and to remain joyful. God has great things in store for us, but often times we miss out on what is happening now, in our valleys, and sometimes miss out on our mountain top altogether.

Speaking of missing out on our mountain tops, I have another analogy I want to throw out there. In the world of snowboarding I learned a beautiful thing. “If you look at what you are trying to miss, you’ll surely hit it. Rather you need to look at where you’re going.” It may sound like complete poppycock, but in all seriousness it is so very true. If you look at that rock you are trying to miss, you’re probably going to nail it, seriously. Same holds true for lots of other things like driving and cycling. So how does this even slightly relate? I think so often we get ourselves so sidetracked because we focus so very much on the things that could go wrong; the things that could endanger our mountain top experience, that we end up running right into them or just bail out early due to fear when all we really needed to do was focus on where we were headed. It’s kind of like my “man trip” this past weekend. I climbed up something that admittedly was not very safe, but unlike my comrades, I did not limit my thoughts to the things that could go wrong, all the various ways I could fall, but rather I focused on the things I could do right, and the ultimate goal. In the end, it was almost as if it wasn’t dangerous at all, and let me just tell you that the reward was priceless. Keeping your eyes on Christ and on His will for your life, even in the valleys, is of utmost importance. If you don’t stand in His will for you, you won’t stand at all. So to tie it all together, there is life giving growth in the valley, and rather than bowing to fear, or being swayed from the Lord’s perfect path, we need to push ourselves to further focus on Him and on His will for our lives during those times. If we don’t we will surely be led astray, and perhaps even get stuck on the barren part of that mountain that is not yet the peak, but rather a dismal middle ground – in a lukewarm existence desiring more without finding it. Don’t look at the rocks, people. Just don’t do it.

Luke 10:38-42