Greetings Prayer Warriors,
Everyone is searching for something in life. More adventures, more challenges, more quiet, more fun, more of everything, even if that means space!! Instinctually, the “summit” is the destination. We are hard wired for ascension. We think ascending means accumulating more. Yet, to rise up, we must pare down, letting go of the unnecessary.
Isn’t that how it is in the building of our relationship with the Lord? At first He seems out of reach, then we realize that it is not God who is far away, but rather we have distanced ourselves from Him. We look inward and come to a stark realization.
What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Romans 7:15
Again we are faced with the notion of letting go of what we thought were treasures. Until we unburden ourselves of our stubbornness, pride, bitterness, vanity, lust, etc., even “base camp” with the Lord seems unfathomable.
We look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
The Lord knows we can’t climb the mountain alone, so in His love, he comes down to us at the very first sight of our steps towards Him. He immediately bestows us with gifts of grace. His disarming love breaks down our walls of resistance, resulting in our ability to release those things that suddenly seem unimportant. Surprisingly, we learn that when we aren’t carrying the unnecessary, we become free to accept the Lord’s embrace and assistance.
“Summiting” can take a lifetime, but God always remains by our side. Here is a sample of the final experience.
I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, Philippians 3:8-9
The Lord always grants us all graces necessary, so let us pray that we and our family members have the courage to take that first step!
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Aspire to the summit! Pass it on!
