…I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28, KJV

I like to hike in the mountains, but I don’t get to go hiking nearly as often as I’d like. Although I do enjoy the scenery and the exercise along the trail, the main attraction for me is neither the scenery nor the exercise; it is the beautiful, peaceful view I find at the top of the mountain. There are few things that rival the serenity one can find on a mountaintop on a clear, mild day. With a gentle breeze kissing your cheeks as you overlook a mountain range filled with peaks, valleys, and wispy clouds, a person can commune with God in a way nearly impossible to imitate elsewhere. God’s creative artwork is gorgeous up there, and it is the desire to see that artwork again that makes the idea of hiking attractive.

Every now and then God will bring us to the mountaintop spiritually. There, above the world and its fray, we experience a joy-filled rest that can only be savored when one is totally in communion with God. The funny thing is that we will encounter the same thing preceding each and every trip to the mountaintop – a rugged, tiring climb filled with danger, struggle, and strife. To get to that place of perfect fellowship with God, we have to climb uphill against the obstacles that Satan places in our paths – obstacles designed solely to keep us from reaching that plateau of sweet communion with God.

The difference between those of us who face the climb with resentment and those of us who tackle the climb without disgruntlement is the difference between focusing on the prize and focusing on the drudgery. If we can keep in mind how wonderful it is to be with God on the mountaintop, then we can see each challenge for what it truly is: the next step to enjoying our next mountaintop experience. With such a view in mind, we will, through God’s enablement, go around, over, or under the obstacle to get to our Savior. If, however, we focus on the horror of the challenge itself, we will be so self-focused that our climb to the mountaintop will be halted altogether. Now standing still on the trail and depressed, Satan will have beaten us, simply because we didn’t keep our eyes on the prize.

There’s nothing like holding hands with the Father on the mountaintop, looking over His works in your life, and remembering the spiritual victories you’ve enjoyed because of His enablement. But to enjoy such communion, you’ve got to climb. Ironically, the obstacles to communing with God are what makes communing with Him so special. If we didn’t have to go to battle each day, we’d never appreciate how very special the joy and peace at the mountaintop is.

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