"Why do you climb philosophical hills? Because they are worth climbing? There are no hills to go down unless you start from the top." (Margaret Thatcher)

It's said that halfway up the Swiss Alps there's a popular rest house. It's a good day's climb from the bottom to the top, but you can usually get to the rest house by lunchtime. And that's where you separate the men from the boys. When some amateur climbers feel the warmth of the fire and smell the good cooking they say to their companions, "I'll just wait here while you go to the top. When you come back down I'll join you and we'll go to the base together." A glaze of satisfaction comes over them as they sit by the fire, or play the piano and sing mountain-climbing songs. But about 3:30 in the afternoon everything changes; they start looking toward the mountaintop as their friends reach it. Suddenly the atmosphere in the rest house changes and they think - If only I'd kept climbing!

Three things can cause you to lose sight of your God-given goals:

(1) Weariness.    Jesus told Peter, "Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Lk 22:31-32). We all have to overcome the failing faith syndrome.

(2) Fear.    Some days the mountain just seems too high and we're tempted to give up. Then a voice whispers, "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”Joshua 1:9 (NLT)

(3). Comfort.    "Woe to them that are at ease [become complacent] in Zion" (Am 6:1). Conflict and hard times keep us on our toes - and on our knees.

Keep climbing... remembering Paul’s prayer for spiritual growth, "When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit." Eph. 3:14-16 (NLT)