The Hills aren’t the Problem

The Hills aren't the Problem

Many of you know that I love to run. Some days it will be 7 miles, others I will barely make 2. Sometimes I have to pump myself up before I even take off and know exactly how far I am going just so that my mental attitude will be ready. It never fails though, I will hit that first hill and wonder what the heck I am doing.

Hills are never fun. I don't care who you are or what you are training for. They may be necessary to get what you want out of your work out, but never are they something that people want to do over and over and over. Especially at the end, who wants to climb just one more after you get to the point of exhaustion? Well at least I don't!

The other day I took a route that I don't often take. It was all back roads with hardly anyone around! It was pretty early still, only 8:00, clear skies, just beautiful. Something happened, though, in the last couple of weeks in Indiana. It is summed up in one little word: humidity! Even at 8, by ¾ of the way through the run, I was drenched in sweat and trying to suck down some pretty thick air. Not so much fun!

Something hit me that morning; this path that I took had hardly any hills on it. It should have been a piece of cake to run it through. The hills that I did have to run, I put my head down and just plowed through them. The hardest part this particular morning was the straight roads. I had a much harder time staying focused and determined to finish when I was just running the same pace for miles at a time. There were way more times of feeling ready to quit.

How often do you feel like quitting in your spiritual lives?

What is crazy, as I take a look at mine, is that I hit my knees more often, grab my Bible more frequently, and just plain fight more, when I am trying to "run up a hill". I get determined, cling to Jesus and just plow through until I get to the other side!

But what happens when nothing is really happening and life is just simply simple?

Are we just as determined to get up early and spend time with Him when our path has been without any bumps? Do we still put our armor on when it doesn't feel like there is a battle raging around us? How many stray off the path during a period of quiet, rather than when the going gets tough?

God says in Ephesians 6:13:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

God says to put it on now, not when you are running up the hill. He wants you to be ready before you hit a hill!

Everyone is a runner, well some of us may walk a lot, but we are all in a race! There will be hills, and sometimes even mountains to climb, but more often than not, there will be miles and miles of nothing but straight paths to take! Do not get lazy! Don't take for granted the fact that you have to keep fighting, even when it seems like an easy ride! The straight roads may be the ones that everyone wishes for and waits for, but they can also be the most dangerous.

I don't know where you are at right now, or what path you are on, but I do know one thing: you have a God that is waiting for you to call on Him. Don't think that you can do this on your own, and don't try to do it without your armor on! Satan knows when you are ripe for the picking, and often, you will find that it is right smack dab in the middle of the times when we get a little too comfortable and forget the need to fight!

Whether you want it or not, the battle is raging for you and your soul! Fight up those hills with everything you got, but don't stop there…the hills are just the obvious battle; the straight paths are where you will have to deliberately make some choices!

Don't quit, don't let yourself stray or slow down…the finish line is just around the next corner! Your prize is waiting!