In our travels across the country, one place that stands out is the Devil’s Tower Monument in Wyoming. It’s a massive natural igneous rock (created from cooling and solidification of lava) rising into the air, inviting visitors to walk around the huge structure and also to catch a glimpse of those brave souls who choose to scale the nearly upright sides.
The climbers look like tiny specks against the mammoth rock, as they hang tenuously, tethered to the ropes and other equipment, that holds them close to the sides as they make their climb. They completely trust their ability through a training process, and the ropes that hold them securely. I would not be so trusting! In fact, the very idea terrifies me!
Ice climbing is another area where trust in the specific tools of their trade is necessary. They, like the mountaineers who choose to scale the side of Devil’s Tower, are those who choose to scale the sides of frozen waterfalls or glaciers. While both kinds of climbing are dangerous, ice climbing has a greater risk given the continually changing ice, which causes different grading patterns, requiring changing routes during the climb. This also, while amazing to watch, requires absolute trust in the equipment used, and trained skills to reach the summit.
There are days in our lives, when circumstances make us wonder what we even want trust in! Our world is spinning with all kinds of negativity. The COVID Pandemic, weather related disasters and fire tragedies, among the regular day to day living, can upend us. We feel like the rope we are supposed to hang on to, to steady us, and hold us firm, is nothing but a thin piece of thread, which at any moment could snap!
It’s times like these where, as Believers reach for the constant rope, we call faith, to cling to, enabling us to take a breath and know we are sustained through Christ. Even when we have faith, it seems we are continually finding ways to overcome the challenges we face.
The Bible tells us faith overcomes defeat and demonstrates this idea through Moses and others. Moses died and did not make it into the Promised Land, as he had planned. Even though he was God’s chosen leader for the Israelites, there were instances where he wasn’t faithful and obedient to what God asked of him, so God would only let him see the Promised Land before his death.
Joshua, another great man of God, also had a faith issue from time to time. Once he sent a small group of men into Ai believing the threat didn’t require a larger one, feeling confident they had this battle won! But Joshua forgot to pray first to get God’s direction, and did not win his battle. At first he blamed God because he believed God didn’t send enough help for the fight and then learned there was ‘sin in the camp,’ furthering a weakened ‘rope.’
Yet, once Joshua dealt with the sin in the camp, and turned his focus back on God, he discovered he had the right tools through faith, to continue with his God given talents and purpose. His faith was back on track and the quality of life and love grew exponentially!
This can be the same in our life too. We can scale those rock mountains and ice sculptures that seem way too intimidating, when we tether ourselves in God’s grace, and tie the knots of faith in our ropes, as we climb higher and higher, up and above those massive negatives that threaten to plummet us to the ground!
God wants us to live life positively, through trust and faith in Him. When put this belief into practice, we can see changes all around us, and scale the mountains with confidence!
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