Several weeks ago, I took a week (+) of vacation and backpacked a section of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia with four other guys, some of whom are members of Peachtree. On the next-to-last day, we began a climb of 1400 feet over about two and a half miles. I’ve had more difficult climbs, but on the seventh day of this hike, it was TOUGH. I’m not as young as I used to be.
I started looking for something to play over in my mind to give me a sense of rhythm and settled on the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Each word was a step as I tried to reach the top, while drawing closer to the Lord.
But then something arose in my soul, suggesting to me that I was focusing on my own self, my sinfulness, the “mortification of the flesh,” and less on the power and might of Jesus. I started playing around with a revision, looking for a “Protestant” or “Reformed” version of the Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, give me grace (strength) to serve (follow) You this day.”
I bounced back and forth with those two revisions, mulling over what Christ had done to pay the price for my sins and realizing my desperate dependence on the Him. I realized I need Christ to give me the grace to serve Him, the strength to follow Him, AND power ENOUGH to reach the top of that climb. I repeated one prayer and then the other, over and over, grateful for the power of Jesus to transform life.
I’ll be honest. My prayer did not make the difficulty of the climb go away. But it did shift my focus from my own fatigue and weakness to the power and grace and majesty of Jesus.
In any long journey, be it a difficult climb or simply a long, level slog, we grow weary. We long to reach the mountaintop and see the beauty (which DID come for me that day but only after another, harder climb). But there is no journey without effort. When we find ourselves hurting, fatigued, ready to quit or give up, we need to shift our focus from ourselves to Jesus. Our strength comes from Him and not from ourselves!