“i will climb this mountain with my hands wide open”
a song lyric that i’ve sang a countless amount of times (from “nothing i hold onto” by will reagan), but i’m just now figuring out what exactly it means.
i’m not a big hiker gal, but i’m pretty sure that climbing a mountain is no easy task. if i was climbing a mountain, you could bet your bananas that i’d be gripping to the side of that mountain with everything in me. i’d be pressed against the mountain, terrified.
but the thing is, God wants us to cling to Him and not the things that are right in front or below us. when my strength is failing, His is still constant. and when i do fall, He’s there to pick me back up. He’s a good dad like that.
your hands have to be empty before they can be open. to have open hands means you’re not gripping to anything. you literally can’t be holding onto anything else. i’ve got to let go of all that baggage i’m carrying to continue to walk with the Lord. all those feelings of worthlessness, and shame, those doubts of how the Lord is moving in my life and those around me, those worries about my future — i can let all that go.
when you hike, you don’t want to have a heavy load. i can say from experience, hiking with a ton of weight on your back just ain’t it. we’re called to pack light. in Luke 10, when Jesus sends out some of his disciples, he tells them to leave everything behind. we’re called to surrender daily to Him. what a beautiful thing that He willingly carries our burdens, no matter what they are.
open up. He’s ready to hold your hand.
this hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. i’m down in georgia (WOO WOO!!!) leading a team of four incredible women. and it’s been so amazing (i’ll be sharing lots of good & fun stories soon hehe), but also there’s just a lot of things that are different than i thought they’d be. some of my best friends are living 5 minutes down the road but i can’t see them bc of the rona. there’s lots of health assessments, social distancing, mask wearing. none of that is bad, i’m really thankful that AIM is working hard to keep us all safe, it’s just not what i had visioned when the Lord put team leading on my heart.
this whole surrender thing is something that the Lord has continued to place on my heart. just when i think i’ve given Him everything, He points out something else that i’m clinging onto that’s keeping me away from Him.
but how gentle is it that He so lovingly continues to call us closer and closer to Him, even though it can take a while to convince us to let go of our baggage.
i encourage you to ask God what you’re holding onto instead of completely trusting Him!!
okie, that’s all for now. more updates to come!
check out my facebook and insta for some fun pictures from team leading hehe:)
much love to all of you!
mads
