4 Tips to Effectively Climb the Mountain God has Called you to Climb

“Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the Lord do that which is good in His sight.” -1 Chronicles 19:13

One beautifully humid morning as I headed out for my first workout of the week I was getting my mind ready for those hill repeats I love so much!  No really, hill repeats are my most favorite workouts!  No joke! Anyway, I did some dynamic stretches and was feeling pretty good.  Two days prior I had ran 15 miles for the first time since my marathon training a year earlier, so it had been months.  I was surprised how little soreness I felt. This particular morning I started my watch excited and within 20 seconds my whole attitude changed.

I heard loud buzzing around my head and at the same time felt something sting me on my hand.  My first instinct was to smack the one and run from the other.  I had no idea what they were.  I just wanted away from them. I looked down at my hand to see a big black and white bee fly away.  I ran inside to see if I could take care of the stinging sensation on my hand before I headed back out for my run.  Other than a little swelling and a small dot where I must have been stung, it all seemed fine.  I completed the workout with no problem.

But as the day progressed, by hand began swelling more and more.  It swelled so much I began not being able to move my fingers and my wrist seemed to double in size.  By the time I went to bed, half my forearm was swollen as well!

The next day I was one-handed because I could barely move my fingers and I couldn’t lower my hand below my heart otherwise it would be throbbing.  All these thoughts kept going through my mind like, “What if I won’t be able to run because of the swelling becoming worse?  Then I won’t be doing what I feel called to do – Run every day (except Sunday of course!  Rest days are amazing!) and keep moving forward in my future dreams for Be Still and Run.  I’m gonna miss my goal mileage this week if I can’t get out there today.  I’m gonna gain a bunch of weight…”

Isn’t it crazy how far our minds can take us and how easy it is to spiral down into depression??  And over something as silly as a little bee sting that will clearly heal quickly for the majority of people?  But big things like suddenly being forced to move to an unknown location, or an out-of-the-blue call that a loved one has died, can understandably turn our world upside down.

Did you know that in order to climb a mountain you have to start at the bottom?  And often times you must go through a valley first?  Even when climbing a mountain you are bound to come across obstacles and trials along the way.

So how do we climb that mountain?  There are many ways to effectively climb mountains, but it all depends on your individual needs, the circumstances, and the weather, as to what you should do.  But I think 1 Chronicles 19:13 gives some good guidelines as to how we can effectively climb the mountain God has called us to climb.

1. Be of Good Courage.  Realize who God is and that He is in control of everything.  Remind yourself of these truths every day.
2. Behave Yourself Valiantly. Not only were the soldiers commanded to BE of good courage, they were commanded to BEHAVE or ACT out that courage.  They were encouraged to be brave and do daring things. 
3. Do these Things for the People and for God. We must have motives behind our actions otherwise when difficult situations come up, we will not push through them.  Doing things for others and especially for God is one of the most motivating motives a person can have because God instilled those desires into us.  We do our best most daring things out of love.
4. Let the Lord do that Which is Good in His Sight. Once we receive our commandment or calling from God, we must do it, but we absolutely must leave the results up to God.  The final outcome of what God is leading us to do may be totally different than what we have imagined.  We must remind ourselves that it is the act of surrender and obedience God is asking of us primarily. If He told us the future, we might never get up off the couch.

So go climb that mountain and do it effectively!  Happy Running!

I pray you received some encouragement from this week’s post!  If you ever have any questions or suggestions, or simply just need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out.  We love you and pray you have a blessed week!