Matthew 17:20
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
God has trusted me with one little thing. Sometimes I drop the ball, but I try to keep prayer requests in front of our Parents in Prayer at school and at my church. It's not hard. Anyone with a computer could do what I do. But since I'm in front of my computer almost all day long, it's pretty logical that I take on this task.
The down side? Being inundated with prayer needs can be overwhelming and heartbreaking. I see so many good people who are hurting. I don't understand why they have to go through such suffering. Each one has their own "mountain" he/she is climbing. The question is do they have a Life Line? or are they trying to climb the mountain on their own?
I love this song by Jamie Slocum - Just Another Mountain. It's easy to become discouraged and allow ourselves to feel defeated, hopeless. There are days when I see a friend struggling and I think, "Lord, could she just catch a break here! Please take this burden from her!" But then He reminds me that as much as my heart breaks for my friend's suffering, He loves her more than I can imagine. He reminds me that I have to keep looking up, trusting Him just like she does.
I've watched TV specials on mountain climbing and it scares me to death. I can't imagine being on the side of cliff hoping to have a good hand or foot hold within reach for my next move. Sometimes the holds are so tiny I don't see how the climber can possible get a finger in the crack enough to be able to hold on. I know it takes a special kind of man or woman to scale a seemingly impossible rock climb.
As I watch a climber scale rock walls that seem impossible, it reminds me of my friends who are doing the same thing, scaling impossible mountains. Just like that climber, my friends know how to find the hand and footholds. They know how important it is to have someone they can trust to help them on the climb.
Well, as any real climber can probably see, I don't know much about mountain or rock climbing. So I turned to my good friend, Rick Love, and asked for his input regarding the relationship between physical and spiritual mountain climbing.
from Rick -
Carol, I’m not a climber, at least from the technical sense, but the spiritual metaphors are virtually endless;
For the purposes of your metaphor, the following assumes the climber’s ascent and/or rappel will be ‘assisted’ not solo.
The climber begins by putting on his/her safety harness. (The Word of God. You gotta get into the word before you can get safely connected).
The climber’s ropes are secured to a metal eye bolt anchored deep into a rock’s crevice at a fixed high point above the climber. (The Solid Rock, wherein my faith is securely and firmly anchored, is God, that’s why I drive that eye bolt deep).
The climber uses high grade titanium carabiners to fix his rope to both the anchor point and harness. (The carabiner is that piece of equipment or instrument of my obedient Faith, for until I take that carabiner and ‘Clip In,’ I’m not secure. I would essentially be relying on my own strength and physical prowess to ‘free climb’ the wall, no safety net, etc.).
The rope (Jesus) is my life line (it’s what connects me to the Rock) and runs from the anchor in the Rock above me through the strong hands of a trusted belay man. (The Holy Spirit)
Once the climber is ‘clipped in,’ the climber communicates with his be-lay man in simple words meant to clarify safety and readiness, and then begins the climb, a process referred to as ‘on-belay.’ The climber and be-lay man are now one in so much as they are both connected to the rope. The be-layer’s attention remains fixed on the climber throughout the climb helping control the rate of ascent or descent, and while the climber may not always be able to see his be-lay man, he knows he’s there.
Of course, there are several versions to the metaphor, I Hope this helps.
Rick
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Well, that's pretty much what I wanted to say but just didn't have the knowledge that Rick does. Thanks, Rick!
Mountain Climbing Tips
INSPECT YOUR GEAR. Make sure it's reliable. Don't take someone else's word for it that the rope and anchors are in good shape. Your life may depend on those items.
I thought, yep, that's great advice. For spiritual mountain climbing, My rope or life-line is Jesus and without Him, I'd surely fall even on the smallest climbs. And I have to know my be-lay man if I'm going to really be able to trust him. My Be-Lay Man is definitely the Holy Spirit who keeps me connected to my Life-line - Christ. How many times has He saved me from certain disaster? I can't begin to count.
I saw this techniques and immediately identified the spiritual meanings for me:
- Test foot and handholds before using them.
- Watch for lizards, snakes or other critters residing in handholds. ( The Enemy and his friends)
- Know and trust your belayer. = )
What if I get scared when I'm on the rope?
Just stop, breathe, relax and enjoy the scenery around you. Take your time. Relax and trust your Be-Lay Man. I love this sentence: "The beauty of a top rope is that you can always ask for tension and hang on the rope to rest or gain confidence in the safety system." = ) I have everything I need to - all I have to do is ask.
Who is your Be-Lay Man? Who is Your Life-Line?
Inspect your climbing gear. You need to know.
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