December 2: On Belay. Climb on.

December 2:

Isaiah 52:7-9  How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"  Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.  Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

There is a climbing tower at Lake Beauty Bible Camp, our church-sponsored camp.  It is approximately thirty feet tall, and I have climbed once. That was enough; I don’t need to do it again.  

A mild fear of heights is one reason why I steer clear of the tower these days.  Another is that it’s painful.  No, I didn’t fall nor did I scrape, break or tear any part of my body.  The problem was that I could hardly move my extremities the next day and subsequent week after the experience.  I was so stiff, and it was all my fault.

Before one climbs the wall, an attendant scales it and makes sure that s/he is firmly tethered to the hook in the floor at the top before anyone else touches the wall.  His/her job is to help guide the climber as s/he makes the ascent, suggesting hand and footholds. Another attendant, the belayer, stays planted on the terra firma as the climber starts the process. While attached to the climber via harness and belay, the belayer takes up the slack from the rope as the climber ascends. If a climber should slip, lose his/her footing, or start to fall, the belayer is the safety net to make sure the landing is as stress and pain-free as possible. This is what my son did all summer when he worked at LBBC.

Clearly, there are several safety mechanisms to protect a climber. One attendant goes before, and one after to ensure that the climber will be safe.  In my experience, I just wish my head would have told my body that when I made the climb.  Even though I knew that I was safe, my body reacted to my inner anxiety and tensed up.  The result was that I had strained the muscles in my arms and legs, and I paid for it for the next week. 

As I wrote yesterday, there will be mountains of adversity that strain our muscles and leave our lungs burning from exertion. That’s life.  But just like the attendants for the climbing wall, God has promised to go before us and after us.  “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me” Psalm 139:5. Therefore, we have nothing to fear.  The safety mechanism is firmly in place.

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.  For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you.  He will neither fail you nor abandon you” Deuteronomy 31:6. 

Rather than tense up our muscles, we can climb those mountains with confidence. Rather than allow worry and anxiety to steal our breath, we are called to use our lungs to shout for joy.  Our God has gone before us, and He follows behind us.  He has promised not to leave us or abandon us; He will be with us throughout the entire climb. Once our outlook on the task before us changes, the climb becomes an opportunity rather than an obstacle. As our perspective changes, so does our purpose in being on that mountain. 

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.  Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

 On Belay. Climb on.