To be sure, there’s nothing easy about the Christian life. Walking with Jesus often feels more like mountaineering than a stroll in the park. Of course the world we live in has obstacles we need to overcome, but God could direct us around those difficulties if He wanted. It seems God’s will is to keep us climbing. God wants us to continue to move higher and higher on the mountain. We have been granted righteousness through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ and now we must climb our way to the summit where we will encounter our eternity with Him. When we look back at the life of the apostle Paul, we see a similar struggle to reach the top of the mountain.
“Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.” Acts 14:19 (NIV)
The apostle Paul accomplished a great deal in his life but it was no walk in the park; it was an arduous struggle. We know God was with Paul during every step of his ministry. God could have made Paul’s every journey like a stroll alongside a flowing river, but He didn’t. Paul was a mountaineer who climbed dangerous peaks and continuously fought his way toward the summit. God has a purpose for our struggle. Praise God for every difficult step. Like Paul, we need to continue to climb and cherish the moments of rest we get as we move closer to God.
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