Category: The Journey

Mark 1:9-13                           Highs and Lows–Peaks and Valleys

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.’  The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him” (RSV).

 

If we want to discuss the journey between the highs and the lows, the peaks and the valleys, there is no better example than that of Jesus described in Mark 1:9-13.  He goes from “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased” to “And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan.”  From God the Father to Satan, from the highest to the lowest.  There was very little transition for the passage also states, “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.”  His time in the wilderness was an extended time, forty days.

In this life we experience journeys between the peaks and valleys in both directions.  Sometimes the journey is quick and sharply delineated, but other times the journey is longer with the distinction between the two—peak and valley—not so sharp.  Sometimes the journey goes almost unnoticed, as we drift between one to the other.  We can easily distinguish between a peak and a valley, but we need to learn when we are on the journey between the two and in which direction we are headed.  Satan does his best to cloud the journey, thus deceiving us as to where we are headed.  We need to be constant in the reading of His Word and in conversation with our Lord to understand where we stand at any time, and that is important.  When we are traveling from lows to highs, we can shorten the journey by our actions and our attitude, and when we are travelling from highs to lows, we can stop the journey before we reach rock bottom.

We do travel between highs and lows, peaks and valleys in this life, but when we are aware of the direction of travel, we can always depend upon our Lord to give us both help and comfort along the journey.  It can be said that the peaks are not as high when the valleys are not very low, but with the Lord’s help, we can spend more time on the peaks or on the journey toward the peaks to His glory than we do in the valleys or on the descent toward the valleys.  Thank you, Lord Jesus.  Help me to be aware of the direction of my journey, and help me to move toward you.

Habakkuk 3:19                                                  He Guides My Feet

“The Lord gives me strength, He makes my feet as sure as those of a deer, and he helps me stand on the mountains….” (CEV)

 

I took this picture fifty-three years ago.  Norma and I, her twin sister, Dorla, her husband, Ernie, and another couple, Wayne and Sue, took a camping trip to Glacier National Park where we spent much of our time on hiking trails.  This was a 7 ½ mile hike to Granite Park Chalet, where we slept on rugged bunks wearing all our clothes and all the blankets we could get.  We noticed something interesting as we walked up to the bunkhouse.  Sticking out from the door were numerous long, sharp spikes.  We were told that they discouraged the grizzly bear from knocking down the door and entering.

Each couple had a child of about two years of age with us, and each couple alternated carrying their child in a “Gerry” pack from which the kids could look at the scenery or take a nap.  All three of the kids were good campers, and they gave us insight to the sights through their eyes.

The trail began at Logan Pass, went along the Garden Wall that overlooked a deep valley with a river and a long lake, across snow fields, across rocky slopes that ran along the edge of the Garden Wall, and ended up at Granite Park Chalet with this magnificent view of aptly named, Heaven’s Peak.  What a glorious hike it was.  Even when the view was not long distance, the things close by were interesting—interesting included rocky mountain sheep.  Once we got to the chalet. we saw a group of people and a ranger looking through a spotting scope.  When we asked what they were looking at, they let us look at the grizzly bear mother and cub less than a hundred yards off the trial we had just hiked.

I believe this hike to be a metaphor for my Christian life.  I have walked this walk alongside my wife of sixty years.  We were joined on this journey for many years by Ernie and Dorla until they both moved on to an even more spectacular place, heaven.  Throughout my Christian life there have been many exciting times, from teaching in Christian schools, to having a Christian ministry to campgrounds across the United States.  Now we are providing church services in an assisted living home two Sundays a month.  In between the exciting times, there were years of living for and learning to know our Lord Jesus better day-by-day.  There have been times when the “spikes through the door” provided protection, and there were times when we later on looked back and saw times when the “grizzly bear” had been close to where we walked.  At the end of this hike mentioned above, we saw Heaven’s Peak, and we had a safe and beautiful place to stay for the night.  At the end of my Christian life here on earth, I will see the real “Heaven’s Peak” as I am welcomed into the best place I could ever stay, except this stay will not be for a night—it will last forever, and it will be in the company of my Lord, Jesus Christ, who created every bit of the beauty I saw on the trail to Granite Park Chalet.  I’ll look for you there.