Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Mountain High; Valley Low

Life is a journey.  Our walk with the Lord is a journey.  If you think about a traveling anywhere, you don't spend much time standing still.  If I am taking a trip someplace, I have a goal in mind and am pressing on towards reaching that destination.  There are stops along the way, beautiful scenic views that seem to demand my attention.  But the stops are not the end of the journey, they are just places where I rest and catch my breath.  

Often when we talk about our journey with God we speak in terms of either mountain tops or valleys.  We reference our awesome mountain top experiences or we talk about our rock bottom valley-of-the-shadow-of-deaths.  But how much time do those moments take?  If you think about it, most of the time we are traveling.  We are either climbing the mountain or heading into the valley.

Now think about this.  When we climb a mountain (or, in my case, a steep hill) the going is slow and not always easy.  There are loose rocks to watch out for, breath to catch, sometimes the path isn't easy to see and we are not even sure we are going in the right direction.  But we finally reach the top and get to behold the majestic view.  And then...it's time to get moving again.

When I find myself in a valley, it usually happens fairly quick.  It's like I slid down on my backside without realizing it.  I look up and am looking up from the bottom and can't quite remember how I got there.  Regardless of how I got there - I am there, and the only thing left to do is start climbing out.  

Either way, in either place, the pause at the top or the screeching halt at the bottom is momentary.  Most of the time on this journey, we are moving in one direction or the other.  We are either headed in the right direction to the next mountaintop experience or slipping down into the valley.  My question for us to ponder today is...which way are you headed? 

I find I spend more time with God during my difficult times.  When I am  not sure of the path; loosing my footing or am looking up the sides of the valley.  What I really need to be doing is spending constant time in communion with the Maker of the path!  If I do, the path is a little clearer and I can hear His direction.  Without His direction I am hopelessly lost.  If I talk to Him often, I recognize His voice easily and can follow where He directs me.  His path is not always easy, but He is always supporting me.  With Him, I will not fail, I will not falter, I will finish the journey with His hand in mine! 

The thing to remember is the neither the mountain high or the valley low define us.  God can use all of our experiences if we let Him!  In fact, He wants to use EVERYTHING to shape us into the person He wants us to be.  We cannot get so lost along the way He cannot find us; we cannot slide into a valley so low He cannot save us.  We just have to make sure we journey with Him and not strike out on our own!  So whose path are you following today?  His or your own?

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