Climbing the Hills

For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. Job 23:11

We were trudging up a rather snowy, elongated incline and my legs were beginning to wear out. I began to realize, however, that when I kept my eyes attentive on my dad’s footsteps in front of me and trailed the path he formed, it permitted a more bearable hike. As soon as I took my focus off of the track before me and set my eyes upon the rest of the climb I still was obligated to finish...I became disheartened and wearied much more quickly.

This reminds me of Jesus. He is guiding us and leading the way. As long as we are sure to follow in His footsteps and the path He has marked out, the trials and hardships we are hurdling over at that instant don't seem as treacherous. However, when we focus our eyes on the seemingly endlessness of our problems, we quickly become dismayed which increases in us the urge to give up.

God has a path right in front of you; focus not on the apparent boundlessness of your struggles, but upon the feet of your Saviour.

Keep Your Eyes Straight Ahead

“Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” - Proverbs 17:24

 My dad and I were walking across a snow-covered tree that had fallen over a ditched river in the woods. Being very cautious so that we were sure not to slip and fall, we made our way across. Upon reaching the other side, my dad made a comment to me, "You know it's funny how our minds perceive depth. If this log was up as high as the CN Tower, you wouldn't catch me walking across it." Isn't that true for the most of us? Sure, we can do something when there is no/little danger at stake, but when there is a substantially greater margin with which to fall, we back out. The same is with our spiritual lives...we are willing to serve God through thick and thin; when it's easy and there isn't much room for error. However, as soon as the stakes are high and we face the chance of ridicule, failure, rejection, persecution, etc., we tend to back out with our hands above our heads.
              God wants us to keep our eyes on Him. If I were to have walked ahead on that log, not knowing what was underneath me, I have no doubt I could have done it with much more ease. The same is with God; we can handle those heights as long as we keep our eyes up and not look down at the world and the numerous ways to fail. God is our refuge; even if we lose our footing...He is there holding our hands and continually ready to pick us up when we falter. Turn your eyes to the Lord today and don't look down at the ways the world taunts you. God is there and is your refuge.