Had a true mountain-top experience this morning! Thankful to have time to sit down in the midst of a soon to be crazy, but glorious day. It is day one of week two at Lost Canyon Young Life camp, where I am spending three weeks serving Jesus in a community wonderful people.
Today is turnover day, which means the camp is absent of campers for the evening and morning hours. The opportunity to go on a morning hike with other summer staffers was voiced late last night and the chances of most of us waking up to go seemed slim after a late-night pool party. I was eager to go because I love mornings and am in need of some exercise since most of my time is spent serving Jesus at an office desk!
Woke up this morning to a scary dream about a sting ray attacking me…ha.. not going to read too much into that one! But it made it more difficult to get out of bed.. but I heard that small voice urge me to get up and go.
About ten of us girls and guys joined our camp musician, Ryan Long, who led us up the mountain. Before we started our trek Ryan read from Psalm 103 and 104. In 103 David praises the Lord for the power of the redemption in his own personal life…104 follows with praise for God’s glorious creation in nature.
After meditating on these words, Ryan encouraged us to hike up to the top in silence…praying without ceasing, with eyes open to the Lord’s beauty in nature and how He would speak to us personally through it.
I loved this. Immediately before we even reached the bottom of the mountain, I saw yellow, happy flowers springing up from the ground in the most unlikely of places. In the midst of dead, dry pine needles…beauty from ashes. Beauty in the unlikely… beauty in the dead and destitute.
Was reminded of a truth that has been key to me this season: that it is in the wilderness that God shapes and sanctifies us into the women and men He created us to be. Thankful for the wilderness…thankful for the uncertainty of it, but yet knowing that reaching the top would be so worth it. The loose rocks, steep places, sticks that leave your legs scratched… all lead to a beautiful place.
This was not a nice little hiking trail that we took; it was a literal straight- up- the- rugged- mountain- hike. Parts of it were tricky, to say the least, especially with my lack of length in legs. In those “steps of faith” where a slip or trip could come at any moment, I used the strategy of following in the exact steps of my brother in front of me.
Following in his steps led to security in my footing, assurance in moving forward with less slips…God spoke so tenderly that this is what He has been telling me all semester… When you are hiking a mountain with rough terrain you can only focus on each step one at a time… each step requires complete focus and energy… looking up and worrying about what is around you will lead to trips. The Lord promises to lead us and direct us in the way we should go (Psalm 32:8) All I need to do is follow Him, step by step. Because step by step He leads me. I don’t need to worry about what is going on around me, as long as I focus on Him and His guidance..I will come to the mountaintop with Him and experience His beauty.
I couldn’t have made it up without the occasional whispered “good job” and hand-outreached to pull me up the big boulders from a brother or sister. Same with this season, without the whispered cheers and encouragement from Jesus and his nail-scarred hand reaching to pull me through the toughest of days- I wouldn’t have made it. The body of Christ is such a gift, I’ve seen Jesus in my brothers and sisters here so powerfully.
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| With Ryan Long, our camp musician. |
Having walked through this semester the Lord led me to Lost Canyon to be at rest with Him, lost in His love, and at a place where I can breathe in deeply His healing… At the top of the mountain we stopped and read aloud from Psalm 103, 104 and 40.
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set me feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3
We sang praises and offered thanks to our mighty God and then was challenged by Ryan to trust the God who lives inside of us to lead our steps on the way down. I always say that hiking down mountains is much harder and requires more focus and strategy. My anxiousness was released as I surrendered every step down the mountain to the God who protects me. This is how I want to walk away from Lost Canyon this summer. Trusting Him on the way down from my ‘mountain top’ experience here. The strength gained at the top will go before me and follow me as I walk into a new adventure with Him.
Praying the Lord pours His limitless Spirit upon me even more this week. John 3:34
“Just as surely as the Kingdom of God prospers when we are steadfast in Him, so do our hearts and minds. God will never send us into the valley and ask us to bow to His authority there without sooner or later bringing a harvest from the ground watered by our sweat and tears… Jesus never leads us where He is not willing to go.”
Kneeprints 