The Mountain Top

Regardless of what that "top" may be, we want to get there. However, how many people want to do the work that it takes to get there? If you spend any time on social media you see ads for making money fast, getting what you want, getting rich, leaving your 8 to 5, and making more money. They are marketing to our desire to make it to the Top. However, what happens when we get there without doing the work?

I had a thought, take someone that hasn't done the training or preparation to learn how to climb and place them at the top of Mount Everest. What would happen? Honestly, they would most likely die. Why, because they haven't done any of the leg work to prepare their body, acclimate to the weather and the environment, and do not have the necessary experience and survival skills to succeed in that environment. 

In the same way, what if you took an athlete and placed them straight into a professional team? 

They may be gifted and naturally talented but still lack experience and the conditioning to succeed in that environment.

We see so many hi-light reels of people that we look up to achieving what we hope will one day be our dream. What we don't see is the long nights, endless hours, and sacrifices that they made to get to where they are today. Even if they took an unusual route that worked for them they still put in an endless amount of time to learn the necessary skills to achieve success. 

We cannot so easily discount the experiences that we gain from going through the journey to achieve our goals.

In the same way, I believe we so often take our relationship with God for granted. We do not put in the time to build our relationship with Him and get to know Him. Then, hardship or tragedy strikes and we feel alone and wonder why we cannot feel Him near. It's not because He has left us, but instead, it's because we are not accustomed to hearing the shepherd's voice. We have been so busy listening to everyone and anyone else so His voice has become foreign to us. We pray for God to help us avoid conflict, hardship, and difficulty and find ourselves spiritually weak when difficulty strikes.

We need to take a step back and ask ourselves, "what does my spiritual conditioning look like"? 

How much time do I spend listening to His voice, in prayer, and reading my Bible? 

That cannot be substituted by listening to other preachers. I am not saying that God does not speak to us through them, however, they are sharing with us what God has spoken and revealed to them in their personal time with Him. What is God saying to you in your personal time with Him?

You can listen to a physical trainer tell you all the techniques that He has learned through his experience but if you never get into the gym yourself and train it's all theory without application. You may learn a lot of theory, but physically you will not see any improvements. 

So let's stop sitting on the sidelines and get in the game. 

What is God calling you to do? 

What do you need to do to prepare for whatever you may face? 

What do you need to do for your spiritual conditioning and take it from theory to application?

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 

James 1:3-4 For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.