Keep climbing, keep going

A look at the ice-covered Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area
 near Linton, IN.
(c) Nick Schneider/NJS Photo Images

Greetings:
This morning the Lord is impressing on me that our Christian walk is a stroll up a staircase.
The steps are steep and there are many challenges along the way. These challenges are learning moments designed to increase our faith –– show to us God's mercy and loving grace.
I am reminded that the staircase is like the eight Beatitudes described in Matthew 5:1-12 because they are all aspects of being in close communion with God.
There is a pattern and a progression. Each step leads to the next. Remove any one of steps, and we fall or we are stopped. It is a carefully built staircase. The steps are not in a random order. To reach the second step, we need to make it past the first step.
We are directed to keep climbing, even when it seems it takes every ounce of our strength to keep going up. It's difficult to put one foot in front of the other on some days.
We don't know why, but for some this flight of stairs is a long one.
The Lord has made a way where there is no way, if we just keep walking, keep climbing, keep trusting in his guidance which whispers in our spirit.
As we keep climbing, sometimes we wonder if we will ever make it to the top. Our muscles and bones ache and our heart pounds with fatigue at times.
We pray for an another route to make the climb easier, but there is none.
Keep walking and keep climbing.
We must consciously make a choice to go to the next step, and God is not in a hurry. He waits patiently, lovingly and relentlessly for us to catch our breath and relax along the way.
At these times of rest, we know that by looking down, we see and comprehend what we have overcome just to get to this place. But if we look up at the number of stairs still left to climb, it seems daunting and almost overwhelming.
God showed me that we cannot look at only the stairs. We need to fix our eyes on what we cannot see. We must gaze at the top, keep looking up, and taking one step at a time. It's by faith that we walk.
Our soul speaks to us and prods us on because we know that climbing back down would be a mistake. Going back down is not an option.
There is no going back. We've been set free.
At times we just want to sit right where we are at without continuing in the climb. We just hang out for a while in one place.
That's a time of rest. But we shouldn't get too content and we must continue upward and know that the temptation to stop is not a viable option because we hear the Lord calling us to keep climbing.
In our heart, we know that when we finally arrive, we will be so happy we kept climbing. There is no hurry, but no advantage to slowing down either. So we pray today for a steady pace, understanding each level and making a conscious decision to move up and onward as we climb the stairs on this day.
 Be blessed.

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