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Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Reaching Base Camp

"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT)

The summit of Mt. Everest is about 29,000 feet. Those who attempt to climb to the summit must first make it to base camp, which is about 17,000 feet high.  Just getting to this level takes a lot of effort. Once here, climbers usually camp out for a few days to acclimatize themselves to the altitude. Even though they may have conquered other mountains, trained intensely, and outfitted themselves with the latest climbing gear--they know they are weak compared to the immensity of the task ahead.

A life of faith is similar to climbing a mountain. When we realize our vulnerability, we have merely reached base camp. We need to acclimatize ourselves to this paradigm of powerlessness before attempting to move higher. As we camp out at the foothills, we get to observe other climbers. We learn that admitting our helplessness is just the preliminary step--even this takes a great deal of humility and suffering. Yet, this important step makes us ready to follow our Guide up the mountain. We must submit, before we can attempt to summit. The climb to the peak of faith is arduous, but neither our weaknesses nor our circumstances faze us. We are ready to face the probability of injury, as well as the possibility of death. We are trusting in a power greater than our abilities and higher than the mountain.

“None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us.” (Romans 8:37 MSG)

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