Prophecy

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The Mountain Climber
Shared by Patricia Backora, author of the book
Tough Love in Christ's Millennium
Which you can order online from: http://www.publishamerica.com
Psalms Chapter 91; Proverbs 22:3; Matt. 6:13; Luke 11:4b

A young athlete went to an older man to get advice on how to climb a high mountain all the way to the peak. It would be a treacherous, challenging climb, fraught with many dangers. But, thought the young man, here was a real pro. An expert who had a long string of college degrees, with a postgraduate in geological sciences.

The two men had a long discussion on the best way to get to the top, what clothing should be worn, what equipment carried, the terrain and rock formations to be conquered.

“Am I likely to fall and get hurt?” inquired the young man.

“Oh, a few light scrapes and bruises here and there,” shrugged his mentor. “But they’re good for building character. Pain is the making of a seasoned athlete. The more you suffer the more likely you are to persevere until you reach the top. Just give God thanks for every injury that comes your way and someday you’ll even get to be an expert like me.”

Dumbly the young man nodded, thanked him for his time and left for his expedition. He was so obsessed with earning his scars he forgot everything else he learned from the other man. As he scaled the slopes he’d make minor errors of judgment. He’d get a bruise here, a cut there. “Oh goodie,” he chuckled, wiping away the blood. “I’m doing just great. The more I suffer the bigger a success I’ll be.”

Finally he saw something coming at him: an avalanche of boulders. But instead of taking cover in a hollow of the rock and waiting out the rock storm till it was over, the simple man spread out his arms in joy and exultation and cried “Oh, praise the Lord! Showers of blessing! Thank You, Jesus! I’ll really reach the top now!”

Although the man went to heaven in s hurry and praised Me as he did so, the devil was delighted. Here was one believer who would pose no further threat to him or his kingdom. Not only had the man given satan no fight of resistance, he had praised the wrong One for the avalanche.

“Praise the Lord!” is music to My ears, but in times of extreme danger “Save me, Lord!” is much more appropriate. But why should you pray for Me to save you from the works of the devil if you honestly believe they’re a blessing in disguise? Rather, why wouldn’t you pray for worse things to befall you, and to do so all the time? If that is true, Psalms 91 is not for you!

The geological expert, so eager to dispense advice on how to conquer the hazards of a high mountain, had never done anything more physically challenging than climbing the stairs. All his learning had been done from books, at a safe distance from the rigors of nature.

Beware of going overboard in telling wounded souls that the more they suffer the more they should rejoice. Unless you’re prepared to get up off of your soft sofa and go suffer with them!

Never forget it’s a war you’re in. Your enemy becomes deadly dangerous when you rush out to the battlefield to absorb as many of his bullets as possible, just to maximize your suffering and try to rack up points with Me to prove you’re more spiritual than all the rest.

Truth carried to extremes becomes death-dealing error.

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