Climbing Mountains of Faith, Hope and Strength

I am beginning to learn that the road toward sanctification is rarely tread upon even ground. Instead, it is a path that passes over grand mountains, through dark valleys, and constant switchbacks along the way. At times the path is fully illuminated and it is easy to see the way ahead and at others the trail seems to be shrouded in a dense fog and the best that can be hoped for is to simply continue putting one foot in front of the other and trust that God will not allow me to stray too far off of the path.

Nearly every Christian writer that I’ve read writes about the mountaintop experiences as well as the times spent walking through the “valley of the shadow of death,” and early on in my walk with the Lord, the mountaintops seemed easy to attain, as if God had magically transported me to the snow-covered peaks with little or no effort of my own. And my first experiences in the valleys were relatively short lived as God swooped in to rescue me and swiftly guided me back to the crest of another mountaintop lest I lose hope.

Over time, however, the path out of the valleys and up the sides of the next mountain have become increasingly more challenging. I have found myself thinking, “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be much easier now that I have the help of the Holy Spirit,” and “Where is the peak of this next mountain? I’ve been climbing for quite a while now, and it’s nowhere in site.”

In the process of sanctification, or becoming more like Christ, the lines often blur between what is God’s part and what is mine. I’ve read a great deal on the subject and no-one that I’ve read has been able to give a realistic, clear-cut answer to the question of how much I am responsible for and how much help to expect from God. Of course, without the help of the Holy Spirit, I never accomplished much of anything, but I am beginning to realize that there are some battles that God expects us to work out on our own.

J.I. Packer explains that:

“God…is very gentle with very young Christians, just as mothers are with very young babies. Often the start of their Christian career is marked by great emotional joy, striking providence’s, remarkable answers to prayers, and immediate fruitfulness in their first acts of witness; thus God encourages them, and establishes them “in the life.” But as they grow stronger, and are able to bear more, He exercises them in a tougher school. He exposes them to as much testing by the pressure of opposed and discouraging influences as they are able to bear – not more (see the promise, 1 Corinthians 10:13), but equally not less (see the admonition, Acts 14:22). Thus he builds our character, strengthens our faith, and prepares us to help others.”

When I was younger, I spent a number of years living in the mountains of East Tennessee, and spent a fair amount of time hiking though the Great Smoky Mountains. I remember a few hikes along some of the more challenging portions of the Appalachian Trail where it seemed that the next peak would never come. Legs burning, lungs on fire and nearly drained I’d round another switchback expecting to see the crest, but instead see just still more straight up trail. I would pause for a moment, adjust my pack and continue up the trail. Giving up was not an option.

When I did attain the peak, the thrill was incomparable. I would let down the pack off of my back, grab my canteen and sit down to soak in the view from the top. I had made it! All of the pain in my legs and sweat-soaked shirt was forgotten as I surveyed miles and miles of God’s beautiful creation.

Additionally, because of the fact that I had conquered this particular mountain by my own strength and skill, I had the memory of it in my mind the next time that I set out to conquer yet another peak. The experience gave me confidence and hope that I would not have had if I had not completed the climb.

In Romans 5:3-4 Paul writes “… but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.”

This same sentiment is echoed in James 1:2-4 ; “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

I suppose that those easy mountaintop experiences early on in my walk with the Lord could be compared to taking a helicopter to the top of the mountain. The view is still wonderful and exhilarating, but I didn’t have to put much effort into getting there. And because I didn’t put any effort into it, there was not much spiritual growth involved.

And although I could not climb the mountains without the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit, the fact that God is making me climb the peaks myself instead of allowing me to take the quick way up is forcing me to grow spiritual muscles that I will need later on. I also know that God is still right beside me and will not allow me to dash my foot against a stone. If He sees me veering to close to the cliffs edge, He will lovingly guide me back to the safety of the trail that He has set before me.

God wants me to rely fully on Him, but He also wants me to grow spiritually, and He knows that if I never have to climb the trail to the top by my own (ever increasing through Him) strength, then I will not achieve the growth that He desires for me. He also knows that the exhilaration of making it to the next peak that He has planned for me will be much more rewarding and increase my faith, hope and joy if He allows me to make it (mostly) on my own.

In “Reaching for the Invisible God“, Philip Yancey writes about childish (as contrasted to childlike) faith:

I wish I could encourage Christians, as some do, to ‘name it and claim it!’ I wish I could raise expectations that God will change the rules on our behalf and make life easier, not harder. Every time that I wish that, I face the temptation of childish faith – the very temptation that Jesus resisted in the wilderness.’

Or as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.”