My journey has been rough.
I have been in some really dark valleys.
Some mountains seemed too hard to climb.
As I look back I can see that I was never alone.
God held my hand the whole way.
Sometimes God had to hold on tightly as I tried to pull my hand away, yelling “it is too hard!”
Have you ever been hiking or climbing? You start out all excited. You are determined to conquer this mountain. About half way up the side of the mountain you start getting tired. Your muscles start aching. A small voice in your head starts whispering “you are not going to make it” “you are going to fail.” You start second guessing yourself. You start thinking “I am getting thirsty; do I have enough water?” You start wondering, “Did I bring enough food.” “Wait, do I hear a rattlesnake?”
Sometimes, in life we have to face mountains. Some mountains are easy to overcome. Other times we feel like we are falling off the side of the mountain.
Do you have enough water?
God’s word is our water. If we only take little sips of water each day we can become dehydrated. If one does not soak in God’s word each day they can become parched-all dried up.
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.
14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
John 4:13-14 NLT
Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman at the well. I can relate to the Samaritan woman. She was not perfect. She had made many mistakes. Despite those mistakes, Jesus came and sat with her at the well. Jesus took the time to share His living water with her.
Do you have enough food?
People who have been deeply hurt, struggle with trusting others. We put this tall, wall up, trying to protect ourselves from being hurt.
Throughout the Bible, God asks His chosen people to trust in Him. The Israelites depended daily on God to provide for their needs.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I will rain bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather a day’s share every day, so I may test them to see if they will follow My Law or not.
5 On the sixth day they are to bring in twice as much as they gather each day.”
16-1-6 NLV
As we climb our mountains in life, we need to seek God. To trust that He will provide, lead and guide us. This does not mean that we do not have to keep moving. The Israelites were not supposed to just sit around waiting for God to drop bread in their hands each day, no. God provided manna for the Israelites, but they had to go out and gather the manna each day. They had to grind the manna and then make it into bread. As we travel on our life journey, we are not supposed to sit and wait for God to fix our mountain. We have to keep on moving. We are to stretch our faith, trusting in God. Reach out and seek His guidance as we plan our next step. When you find yourself hanging from the side of a mountain, you are not supposed to look down, no. You keep your head up focused on the light, the Son.
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me.
37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.
John 6:35-37 NLT
Do you hear the rattle snake?
The snakes in life are the lies we hear or tell ourselves. The snake rattles his lies normally when we are rundown, stressed or in pain. During these times it is really important to be equipped with God’s word, our water. When the enemy strikes with an attack or a lie, we have to strike back with the truth, “I will not fail.” “I am valuable.” “I will conquer this mountain!”
I am so thankful God did not let go of my hand.
I would not have been able to make it without
His love and grace.
Wednesday Grace
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT