Don’t Give Up!

Each of us will experience moments where we want to give up.  In these moments, we have to trust God.  In 2018 I set out to climb a 14-teener in Colorado.  A 14-teener is a 14,000-foot mountain, and it is just HUGE!  Starting out, I thought, “I’ve got this!”  I was so pumped I could not wait to get to the top.  I started early in the morning, and I was just chugging right along.  It reminds me of how as a born-again believer, I felt like I could do anything!  I was so full of zeal I couldn’t contain it. Nothing could stop me!  Life was just so beautiful! 

I started up the mountain with all that zeal.   At first, the mountain was more like a hill, but then the terrain got steeper and steeper.  Hours and hours went by, and before I knew it, I had been climbing for 5 hours!  There were beautiful things along the way.  Flowers that only grew in the pines, and you better believe I stopped to take pictures!  I walked through an aspen grove as the wind came through, and the leaves on the trees flickered, sounding like water running through a brook.  I got to experience brooks and streams that came down the mountain.  All these things along the way made every step of the hike worth it.

After walking for about 6 hours, I reached 12,000 feet–where I was above the treeline.  The air was thinner, meaning less oxygen, making it hard to breathe. Things don’t really grow above 12,000 feet without oxygen, so it is not as pretty here as they were on my way up.  This reminds me of a place where a believer begins to feel the pressure of tests and trials.  Things get a little more challenging.  You hit points where you run into walls. You have a crisis of faith and think, “Can I make it any further?”  You contemplate, “I wonder if I can reach the top?” But it is important to grow in faith, correct? 

It is an uphill climb, but if you turn around to look at how far you have come and catch your breath, the view is absolutely stunning!  I stopped there and thought, “Wow! This is amazing!  Look at that view!  I am pleased with this, and with me, but I really need to rest; I’m so tired, and my body is done.”  You feel like you are satisfied. The truth is you could stop there and be happy with your progress. I mean, you could. After all, you are at 12,800 feet, your legs are cramping,   your lungs are tired,  and you are at a  breaking point.  You could 

cry at the drop of a dime from exhaustion.  Yet you turn back around and look up, and you are pretty sure you see the summit. You can almost taste the breakthrough.  You sense the tension all over your body and mind, but you know you are so close.  So you push through, putting one foot in front of the other, and begin climbing again.  This is like pushing your faith to the limit, but now you can see the finish line!  You start to believe again and think, “I can do this!”  This is where you break through a wall.  You get a second burst of energy.  At this point, you begin to feel a little hope again.  

This reminds me of the scripture in James, which says,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.                                                                                             James 1:2-4

This part of the vertical incline is so intense it is almost straight up, and each step is really hard work.  What took you 15 minutes to hike 500 feet is now taking twice as long.  You are 50 feet away, and you are so excited you can almost touch the summit!  Pushing through, ignoring your screaming quads and burning lungs, you dig even deeper.  Just a few more feet, and you will reach the lip of the summit. Then you see it……..it’s a false summit.  

A false summit, also known as a false peak, is a term used to describe a point on the trail that appears to be the mountain peak. However, once you reach it, you realize another peak on the mountain is higher than you. You could not see the actual peak until you reached the “false summit.” I mean, are you kidding me?!   This is where a friend of mine sat down and  literally  burst into tears.  

In our walk, our faith is taken to the very limits on purpose because faith is the substance of things hoped for, the things not seen.  We do not get to see the finish line, or else it would not be faith at all!  But faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  So we know we have to go to the source of our faith and hear what it is He says.  He is not a man that He should lie.  If God said it, that settles it. 

                It is here where we either give up and give into defeat, or we don’t.   

My friend sat there for a long time crying, totally exhausted. There was nothing left in her at all; she could not take another step.  Then  a much older and wiser lady, who had gone before my friend, was on her way back down the mountain.  She came up to her and said, “The summit is just up there.”   

Our God is so faithful.  If He brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it.  At just the right time, He presents the truth. Do you believe it?  It’s just right there.  

Galatians 6:9 says,                                                                                                                     “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.”

Just 100 more feet and you are on the top of your mountain.  You have broken through.  Now you turn around and see everything God has done for and through you.  The view is breathtaking.  You know God is the God of breakthrough, and you can trust Him. He went before you and even came to tell you that the summit is right there!

You can do all things through Him who gives you strength!  In due season, you shall reap if…..YOU DON’T GIVE UP!

Jen Meyers