When I climbed Mt Adams years ago, I remember being cautioned that we would see a false summit and think we were nearly there. We were told to keep moving. That our destination–the top–hadn’t been reached quite yet. We were told to keep climbing. Not slack off. Keep our eyes on the horizon.

Such is our walk with Christ. Sometimes it looks like an answer to prayer is right there. We see it coming to fruition. And then, it doesn’t change. That doesn’t mean God hasn’t heard our prayer and isn’t answering it. That doesn’t mean we stop praying.  You keep your eye on the horizon and the true summit and keep on praying. Alas, God’s timing is not always our timing.

Approaching summit of Mt Adams

On that slog up Mt. Adams, I did see the false summit, but reminded myself it wasn’t the end–just a glimpse of the future of the glorious sight on top, so I kept on pushing upward. Just as I don’t stop praying and asking.

At last, we reached the summit. It was a glorious sight to look at sister mountains all around us. The grand Mt Rainier, the lesser, Mt St Helens with its gaping crater from the eruption years before. The spindly top of Mt Hood and beyond, Mt Jefferson. It was satisfying to reach the summit. Now all we had to do was descend. That was just as hard! But we had kept the course and completed the first half of our climb and knew we would complete it.

That’s how it is with life, isn’t it? We stay the course. Wonder if we’re nearly there and find, it is a false summit. Not the real one.

This year, I’ve been reading through the Psalms and read this week a passage which is a song of ascents:

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours (Psalm 128:1-2 NIV).

Let’s keep our eyes on the summit. Keep on climbing until we’re there. Don’t give up. Keep on keeping on.

We’re not there yet!

Not there yet! Shirley ascending Mt Hood, 1990s