Leaving The Flatlands

God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

Psalm 18:32-33

Standing on flat ground is one thing; standing on mountain heights is something altogether different. First, there’s the journey. Getting to the mountain height is no small accomplishment. The way to the top of the mountain takes a kind of strength that doesn’t come naturally. We are built for even, smooth roads and level land. As long as those conditions are in place, we can do just fine. The problem is that landscapes, like life, never stay safe. The road never stays smooth and easy. Our own strength finds its limits early.

We are born flatlanders but have a longing for the heights. Something in our nature knows that there are higher planes and more rarified atmospheres somewhere out there. We are designed with a chip that spurs us toward the heights and programs us to long for higher ground.

That very longing is the entry point for God. Apart from him, we will never become truly ourselves. He created us with a soul thirst that only he satisfies. He acts as a magnet on our hearts, pulling us toward him from the moment we first have the ability to desire. A newborn baby reaching out for human contact is the beginning of the longing designed by God to bring us to him. We were built to be dissatisfied in the flatlands and to yearn for the mountain heights.

Now, the secret. God is the one who provides the strength and stability the journey to the heights requires. We come predisposed to the longing but unequipped for the journey. We will have the courage to climb the mountain only if we know the Strength Giver. Each step is fueled by the faith that his strength will hold us, that we are not scaling the heights in our own might.

Are you staying put in the flatlands because you think you have to climb in your own puny strength? Or are you willing to take the first step upward and depend on the one who will make you as sure-footed as a deer?

Lord, I ask for your strength for the climb, one step at a time.

I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.

Philip Yancey(1949–), American writer and preacher