A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was telling me about a Graham Cooke podcast about living in a “constant state of overcoming.” Those words grabbed my attention, and I haven’t forgotten about them since.
When I first heard it, my immediate thought was, “Wow, that would be exhausting.” Constantly facing something hard, new, and unknown? Always putting one step in front of another and pursuing growth, even when I’m tired and weak? The phrase made me think of a huge and strenuous mountain– never-ending and straight uphill with constant obstructions and challenges. In some ways, I’ve been climbing up this mountain the past six months. It can feel gloomy, overwhelming, and as if I keep climbing upward and getting nowhere.
This phrase kept coming up in conversation, and I started to see a new side to it: what if being in a “constant state of overcoming” meant growth, celebration, joy, and excitement? What if each step up that huge and strenuous mountain meant that I was stepping into the freedom that God offers me? What if each step was an act of surrender: choosing to die to myself and allowing Christ to live through me.
Instead of seeing the challenges of the past six months as a strenuous mountain, I started to see something different: I was reminded of learning how to ski in the Canadian Rockies. After conquering the bunny hill, I skiied down a green, falling on my butt every ten seconds and struggling to get down the “easy” hill – doubting that I’d ever make it back down to the bottom. Each little slope down provided new challenges, but at each plateau I’d look up and see the most beautiful and breathtaking view. Even though it can be full of challenges and growth, overcoming doesn’t always have to be exhausting; it can be life-giving, and an opportunity to know the Lord in a deeper and greater way. As much as the past six months have felt like an uphill mountain, God has shown me some of the most brilliant and incredible views.
P.s. We hiked a pretty phenomenal mountain called Mount Mulanje in Malawi. It was quite an adventure and possible more dangerous than we realized, but it was an incredible experience!!
