Mountains of Faithfulness

     I love analogies.  God has been gracious to give us many to help us better understand how we are to live the Christian life.  Having made it through my first real winter, I am eagerly anticipating spring more than I ever have before.  Experiencing "true" seasons here in Montana is helping me to understand so many analogies or expressions of our culture that I've never truly understood before.  In southern Arizona where I was born and raised you have the hot summer and then the beautiful winter that is really like the rest of the country's late spring/early summer temperatures.  For the first time I'm anxiously awaiting the budding of new life on the trees.  Green grass shoots are peaking out from under the yellow grass and leaves from the fall that didn't get raked up before we moved in.  There's an excitement and eager anticipation that can be felt all around me...and today I was ecstatic that the temperature FINALLY creeped up into the low 60's.  I enjoyed the warm sun with a walk with one of my dogs by the river that runs by our house and then began raking up all those leaves, enjoying simply being able to be OUTSIDE...and actually almost feel hot.  Yes Mom, I know, something weird has happened to me.  ;)  

     When Papa gave me the analogy that life is like a series of mountains, as I said in a previous post, I am only now beginning to see just how deeply he thought about life before passing that on to me.  Recently, I decided to mark anytime I see the word mountain or hill in my daily Bible reading.  I've been amazed at just how many references there are to mountains.  Jerusalem, the holy city, is on a hill, Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He went up to the Mount of olives to spend all night in prayer to His Father many times, believers are all journeying towards Mount Zion, the heavenly city.  I could go on and on, and I haven't even scratched the surface of the references I know will be there as I keep reading and marking them down.  One that stood out to me and reminded me of God's unfailing faithfulness in a whole new way was a verse I typically skip over as the conclusion of the more "encouraging" verses before it. 

 Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls—

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills. 

     As I focused on that last verse I typically just skimmed over, I stopped to contemplate what God was saying.  He is telling us that although there are trials in this life that are difficult, just as He keeps the deer (and the Big Horn Sheep and other animals in His amazing creation) from falling off the rocky mountain cliffs they traverse, our faith in Him, and the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, will enable us to endure whatever He places before us.  I don't know about you, but that is one comforting thought!  Have you ever watched a deer or a Big Horn Sheep agilely run and jump up the side of what seems like a sheer cliff, impossible to climb?  Life can be like that.  A dear friend and I were talking the other day about a time in our old small group in Tucson that a friend was encouraging her that there are times when we are in the valley's of life where we can't see forward and we can't see backwards--but we can look up to the One who knows all things and TRULY has our best in mind--for our good and His glory.  

     As I've contemplated the mountain analogy even more, I've thought about how it's all throughout scripture.  That we are constantly climbing (growing) to be more like Christ.  There will be hard seasons and the road isn't straight up the mountain--it has corners, turns, twists, potholes, valleys, craggy cliffs, boulders, switchbacks and many other obstacles that we never thought of as we began this journey to heaven as a new believer.  The awesome thing is that although it won't be an easy road, God promises to be with us along the way--through every valley, helping us ford every stream, and guiding us with His glorious light til we see Jesus face to face when He comes back to get us or takes us home for an eternity with Him.  What glorious days await us!  Christian, take heart today as you climb the mountain directly in front of you, one step at a time, with your eyes fixed on Him. 

In the Love of the Lamb,

Rachelle :)