Prayer is Building

Psalm 94:18-19 (NIV) 
 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.
 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.     

There is a very good chance that we will have a mountain to climb in the very near future.  We may be on level footing right now, moving forward putting one foot in front of the other with hardly any ups or downs on the road.  We can breathe normally, progress on our journey without having to stop and catch our breath or wipe the sweat from our brow.  Enjoy this path, relish in the ease with which you are able to move forward, for this will not last forever.

As sure as the snow will be here in another five months, there will also be hills to climb, steep valleys to descend and maybe even a small mountain to negotiate.  Got your climbing shoes on?  Did you bring your rope?  There will be times you are going to need special gear in order to survive the obstacles you are sure to encounter.

It is during these times when we might find ourselves crying out to God, "My foot is slipping," and when finally we make it over the hurdle we realize it was God's love, His care and protection that has seen us through such times. Your mountain will be different from mine.  The huge hurdle in your life may deal with relationships and finances.  My hurdle may require that I survive a bout with cancer, or financial ruin.

Either way, it is through God's faithful attention to us, to those times when our foot is slipping, that He rescues us. He makes a path for our climbing shoes to grab hold of.so we can take the next step.  He supports us as we move forward, He loves us as we fall back, He brings us joy in all this.  We serve a pretty amazing God, don't you think?

Psalms 94, 95, 96