Stair steps. Who likes them? Not very many people. Perhaps people in the athletic field or small children like steps, but I'm guessing most people don't like climbing stairs. I know I don't. This past weekend I climbed approximately 832 stair steps. All of these stairs led to different areas of attraction, mostly waterfalls or great lookouts of Lake Superior. I had never thought of this before but there are many different types of stairs out there. Some stairs were made out of stone, while others were carved out of what looked like huge logs. Some were really steep and others were just a gradual ascent or descent. Although many of these stairs had extremely different character they all had something in common: they all led to a destination.
Now climbing these stairs was not an easy task. I recall several times having to pull to the side to catch my breath and wipe an occasional sweat bead off of my forehead. It was quite the difficult climb and I knew I had to focus on something to keep me going. As I struggled up the stairs I began to force myself to focus on one thing to keep me going. I couldn't give up because of the "reward" I would receive in the end (i.e. a great view, a chance to breathe, a sip of water). With each step I took my thoughts became more and more intense. I began to think of crazy things.. like music, how waterfalls worked, what I would say to my youth group during our devo time. Those didn't really keep me going. I got bored. And then I started to concentrate on the pain I was experiencing (i.e. calves burning, muscles tightening, feet aching) which was the worst thing I could do.
After putting a lot of thought into those silly things I had an awakening about midway up my first set of stairs. STEPS! Every day is a step. Well, duh. Of course every day is a step. A step in time.. it's common knowledge. But there was so much more to it than that. Let me elaborate.
Ok. So you got your steps. These steps are in my backyard. Yeah, they're yours now. These steps are made out of wood and stone. They are not perfect. They were built by my dad, who by the way is a great creator, but no one is perfect. The steps in my back yard are huge- you have to take a really big "step" to get to the next one. And obviously no two steps are the same. Does that ring a bell? LIFE.. each step we take is literally and metaphorically a step. Ok, I'm confusing myself now. ...
Some of the steps we take in life are going to be hard. Really hard. Our knees will tense up and we will definitely feel like we can't go on any further. Other times the steps will instead go downwards instead of up and we will be relieved. Some times there will be places on the way up to stop and take a break. And sometimes the steps will be blocked off and we will have to find another way to get to the top. God doesn't give us anything we can't handle.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says "All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." He is with us EVERY step of the way. He never lets go of us! Sure, life is painful. Our knees will tense up. We will get sweaty and thirsty for more. But he is always with us. Through all of that. Every step we take.
Sometimes its really hard to remember that during the really difficult steps. Say your dad dies unexpectedly (just happened to a good friend of mine this weekend-god bless her). You lose your faith. Why would God choose my dad to die? One of the crazy mysteries about God (for another blog). ... Guess what? You leave God. But does He leave you? Nope. Never. Because through His promise to never leave us and through His son we will NEVER be alone. He takes up permanent residence in our hearts. How amazing is that.
He is there to comfort us... when you just can't climb any more. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says "So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." God wants to guide us because His love for us is so immensely great. So for once let's let God be the captain. Let him be the compass in your life and you will be rewarded in the end. Keep your focus on Him and you will arrive at your destination.
Help yourself.
TL;DR
ReplyDeleteBut really, your last sentence tends to be my general spiritual philosophy these days. "Help yourself". I grew up hearing so much about God's plan and God leading and just letting him be in control. I drank that Kool-aide up. But, now I'm to the point in my life where I can't reconcile it anymore. My personal belief is that God just wants me to be happy and enjoy my life while living as a model after Jesus and his teachings.
I've prayed so many times about guidance or direction, only to try and convince myself I heard something on the other end. Maybe it's different for other people, but God just isn't giving me directions. To me, God is the voice in my head, my conscience. We have a running monologue throughout the day, and simply think about the same things, discuss the same humor, and face the same ethical/moral dilemma's together. God made me, but he gave me free will and no roadmap for success. I don't feel like I'm following any grand design or plan, but I'm just doing my best to enjoy life, not worry, and follow Jesus' model of compassion/love/social justice/empathy.
And, I highly suspect this Sufjan song was inspired by 1st Corinthians 10:13 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHqwp8FYFw8
How about when you're walking down the stairs at night and you think there is one less step than there is? You bring your foot out to what you think is the ground and end up falling, or at least feeling like your entire life is going into an endless pit... A little light would have been nice.
ReplyDeleteYou know, recently I've started having a very scary feeling like God is actually going to start taking people away in my life very soon (So far I've only lost one of my grandpas), but I already feel like he is comforting me saying that they will be with him, so it shouldn't be such a sad thing. I don't know, it's a scary thought that I'm hoping is just my mind wondering.
...I've had this idea that maybe God is just a stop-motion producer. There is an eternity between every milli-second of our lives that god goes in and moves every little thing to where it should go next. The leaves swaying, fingers moving, to the bad smell particles from some old spaghetti sauce (I should do dishes :/..eep). and maybe our ideas of what we want to do are sent to him, and he takes those into consideration for where he moves you next... I dunno, it was just an abstract idea, but I like the images it puts in my head when I think of it. It kind of came from that story of someone looking for God, and seeing God's back, because he was just here (or something to that extend, it was in a rob bell clip thing).
Anyways my random wake-up at 3:30am was interesting, but I'm going to go back to bed. My thoughts here were scattered and random, but that's alright with me if it's alright with you (and you know, even if it's not alright with you, it's alright with me, so deal with it! muahahaha).
Get some!