Those mountain trails are difficult, but the benefits often outweigh the strides of the ‘flat landers.’

“Your ways are higher than mine.

I want mountains to move that you want me to climb.”

Your Ways Are Higher Than Mine – Rachel Mccutcheon

This song describes our lives. When facing a mountain of grief, uncertainty, anguish and disappointment, we’d like God to remove it. We know He can do it.

Yet many of His purposes will be fulfilled only if we climb that mountain. Why?

Suppose you walk 20 minutes a day in your neighborhood on only level ground. However, your next door neighbor drives into the mountains several times a week and each time hikes 8 miles of tortuous climbs up to 6500 feet before descending.

At the end of a year, who has the strongest heart and best EKG? The mountain climber!

That illustration may help us understand those times when God doesn’t give us what He could and what we’d really like to have. So we call to Him and ask ‘why?’ Why am I not healed? Why are my questions unanswered? God, don’t you understand that my life would feel so much better if things weren’t so hard, and you’d be able to read the joy on my face!

But God’s working on the part of us that is more important to Him than simply making us happy and carefree. He desires strong hearts, not just happy hearts. He wants the spiritual sinew of our lives to get toughened… ready to grow not only stronger, but able to go the distance in His plan for our lives. Here’s the Apostle James recipe for getting stronger spiritually:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV

It takes faith to successfully climb the mountains God knows are important for us to summit. Yet notice what the Apostle Peter said needs to be added to our faith: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affections and eventually love.  Peter 1:5-8 Those are all parts of the spiritual growth that we need.

Ask God to give insight into the benefits of conquering that mountain in front of you. You may just learn to like the view as you gain altitude on that journey!