Reaching the Summit

Andy & Sam returned Friday night from Wilderness Trek.  They all made it to the Summit of 14,000+ feet!  Even more than the physical journey they took, was the spiritual journey.

There are always times in life, when we are down in the valley.  But, when we call upon the Lord, He is ALWAYS faithful to lift us up.

For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble;
He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;
He will lift me high upon a rock.  Psalm 27:5

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:1

In a spiritual valley, we can feel helpless & desperate.  When we begin to climb, we rediscover hope & our faith is strengthened.  When we finally reach the spiritual summit, we are strong & ready to continue on our journey!

I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
He makes my feet like the deer's; 
He makes me tread on my high places.  Habakkuk 3:18-19

No matter where we are at on our journey, we can choose to praise the Lord & to trust Him to lead us.

For You are my rock and my fortress; and for Your name's sake You lead me and guide me.
I WILL rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love, because You have seen my affliction;
  You have known the distress of my soul.
BUT I trust in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God."  Psalm 31:3, 7, 14

Our ultimate destination & final summit is the heavenly Mt. Zion!  I leave with phrases from two hymns:

We're marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We're marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

On Zion's glorious summit stood
A num'rous host redeemed by blood!
Shout vict'ry now and hail the Lamb.