Courage to climb every mountain

Photo by Trisha Captain

Column Post by Glenda Harbinson

I recently found a new song by Bill and Karen Itzel that speaks to my heart.

There was a time I used to pray

God take the mountains out of my way

Lord if you could make it easy for me

I could be all you want me to be

Then I found out that’s not His plan

He wants me to step up and be a man

He’s given me all the tools I need

And with Him I will succeed

 

I want to be a mountain climber

I want every step I take to take me higher

With each challenge I won’t stop

Until I reach the top

I wanna be a mountain climber

For many years I pleaded, begged God to move those mountains! They were between me and the Godly life He wanted me to have.   Was my faith not strong enough? Not big enough? Surely I had faith the size of a mustard seed, yet God wasn’t moving these mountains! I struggled to walk around them, to find some way past, never realizing that it was through climbing these mountains that I would become the person God had created me to be.

The mountains I faced—circumstances of life—were not caused by my own sin but were results of someone else’s. There was nothing I could have done to keep them from growing up in my path. For years I believed otherwise, until God brought loving, Christ-like people into my life who began to teach me otherwise.  Slowly, over years and with the love of numerous people, I have become a mountain climber.

We all face mountains in our lives. Sometimes they are of our own making; often times they are not. God wants us to climb these mountains but He doesn’t expect us to do it on our own.  He is right beside us with each step.  Often when I am climbing one of these mountains the days and weeks go on and I start to think “shouldn’t this be getting easier by now??” and then I remember the day I climbed Mount Washington.

It did NOT get easier as the climb went on—it got harder! My legs ached more, not less. I wanted to stop more often, not less.  Making it to the top was the ultimate goal, however, and make it we did.

Climbing the mountains in our lives may be less physically taxing but the same principle holds true. Sometimes we do get tired in the climb, but we must look to God, for HE is our strength. This is all about glorifying Him, and when we can stand on the top of our mountain and proclaim all the glory to God, what exhilaration!

In those moments of Glorifying God it is worth every moment of pain, every instance of Satan trying to discourage us. These mountains are opportunities to glorify God.  Let’s climb them together, sisters, and show those around us just how awesome our God is!

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P.S. We’d love to know your thoughts, so please be sure to comment below. Each of our commenters will be entered in a drawing for our current FREE book giveaway, Mothers & Daughters: Mending a Strained Relationship by author Teena Stewart. 

Glenda is a homeschooling mom of four in New Brunswick, Canada. She also fosters one teen and provides respite care and tutoring for another. She and her paramedic husband Mark have been married for 24 years. Glenda’s writings often reflect her personal experience parenting and teaching children with developmental and learning differences, as well as a particular empathy for moms with chronic illness. She blogs at http://pwsmommy.homeschooljournal.net/ and can be reached by emailing glenda.harbinson@gmail.com

Read more encouraging stories from brave-hearted women here. Be sure to grab your free copy of inspirational quotes and writing prompts while you’re there. (Look over on the right hand side!)

One thought on “Courage to climb every mountain

  1. Very inspiring post. Glenda! No matter how steep the mountains may be, God is calling us to keep our eyes upon Him; not on the obstacles. It is only when we surrender to the mountains in life that Jesus will empower us to overcome just as He did.

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