The ceremony was beautiful. After it's close I walked out while it was still early in the day with the sun high & illuminating Pikes Peak & a barely visible trail up the side of the mountain know as the 'Incline'. It had been over a year since I had gone to climb the Incline but something about it today left me yearning for the challenge it offered. I had a set of gym cloths with me & little else. So after a brief lunch with my good friends I set off westward to encounter a challenge & spend some time with God.
The Incline has become famous in southern Colorado for it uniqueness. It is a trail aimed perfectly linearly of the side of Pikes Peak's base. The trail begins at over 9,000 feet in elevation & less than one mile later it spits you out at over 11,000 feet. The air is thin here, the steps to the top number in the thousands, the grade of the trail exceeds %60 in many spots & I am like a chubby kid in a skinny body. I undertook this challenge with the understanding I am in poor shape for it.
Regardless, I set out. I started at a steady pace, one where I could talk quietly to God as I walked, one that would not set any land speed records. Soon I felt the pains of lactate building in my legs & the burn of Colorado altitude on my lungs. I wanted to take a break soon after I had started &, normally, I would.
But my small conversation with God quickly turned into Him challenging me. In whispers that only my soul can hear He would speak.
"God, my lungs hurt."
"You can't stop"
I would set my eyes on the next goal & slowly press on.
"Lord, feel like I shouldn't have done this. Are you sure I can make it without stopping."
"Yes. You can't stop."
"But God, if you are telling me I can't stop I will need the endurance to make it."
"You can't stop."
It was clear for me in this small adventure that He was asking me to develop my endurance by asking Him, by trusting Him just alittle. My legs continued to burn, as did my lungs but first the first time I never stopped on my way to the top of the Incline. As I resolved to press on despite my physical state I realized what He was asking me to do in the other races of my life; work, relationships, engagement, in serving &, come July, marriage. In these seasons I can't rest unless it is in Him. My endurance must come from Him if I wish to finish the race. When I am married this July there will not come a day when I wake up & say,
"Lord, this marriage hurts too bad. I need to stop."
I know He will surely reply,
"You can't stop."
The beautiful redeemed part of me was overwhelmed with joy for this. I don't want to stop running the race, regardless the pain. This is a bold statement, I know, but the Lord gives freely all the endurance, strength & will that we ask Him for. It is His joy to see us to the end of the race & to give us what we need to persevere. For at the end, He will place on us the Victor's Crown, the crown of eternal life.
In 44 minutes I stepped over the last step & onto the top. I didn't stop the whole way. I felt a closeness to God I hadn't when I stood from the bottom of the trail those few minutes before. I held in the strongroom of my heart a renewed confidence to finish the race set before me.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders & sin that so easily entangles, & let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12)
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