Nov. 2003

I backpacked with my oldest son, Steve, for three days in Rocky Mountain National Park following Denver Promise Keepers conference Sept. 26-27. It was an extremely challenging time, but God taught me much about the Christian life and myself. My son is a mountain climbing guide at a shop in Estes Park and is in very good shape. Even though I have been exercising for several years, my endurance was much less and found myself many yards behind him most of the time. It was constantly tiring carrying a 30-pound pack, which was less than half the weight of my son's pack. I found myself complaining when I had to walk over large dead limbs or up inclines that increased the tiredness.

Heb. 12:11: No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

One of the first lessons I learned was to drink plenty of water, especially in high altitude. You lose 20 percent of your strength when your body is down one liter. If you wait until you are thirsty, it is too late. I thought of Christ being the water of life and how we have a tendency to come to Him only when we are thirsty such as in a crisis. Instead, we need to build up our physical reserves of water or spiritual reserves of living water to sustain us through life, especially in tough times.

John 7:37b-38: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

I also noticed that my son was constantly nibbling on dry fruit, bars, prunes, etc, to get extra energy. Much energy is required in backpacking and going up hills. At one point, we were going straight up a mountain ridge. I was gasping for oxygen every 30 feet. Again, I was reminded that Christ is the bread of life who energizes in our moment-by-moment walk with Him.

John 6:35: Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Once we reached the summit, I looked down and it appeared to be straight down. I told Steve, "I am not walking down. I am not a mountain climber." He said, "Don't fear, but follow me." We did not walk straight down, but gradually made our way horizontally down the mountain one step at a time. Once we were in the valley and looking up, I was astounded that we had come down because from a distance, the mountain looked very rugged. Again, I thought of Jesus' instruction to His disciples.

Mark 11:23-24: "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

It took faith to come down the mountain, but we conquered it one piece at a time. When we face mountains in our lives, we must pray believing that God will allow us to successfully navigate them. At the time, trials seem mammoth, but life is a cinch when we take it by the inch.

The next trial was walking along three miles of stream without a trail. I complained because I wanted the easy path. Those three miles involved going up and down mountain sides and crossing the river about six times. It took five hours to walk three miles. So often in life, we gravitate toward the rut of the status quo instead of venturing into an unknown path that requires risk. Steve had to keep encouraging me to enjoy the scenery while following animal trails.

Is. 30:20-21: Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

I crossed all the streams successfully except the last one. At one point, Steve had to throw large rocks in the water so I could cross, which was my way of escape. Being over-confident and tired on the last crossing, I stepped on a wet rock and my shoe slipped into the water.

1 Cor. 10:12-13: So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Toward the end of the day of constantly following animal trails and walking in different terrain, I questioned Steve whether we were lost. He said, "As long as we follow the stream, we are not lost." As dusk was fast approaching, my faith began wavering. At the point when we almost stopped to set up camp on a ridge overlooking the stream, Steve looked ahead about 500 yards and said, "Let's go to that clearing because I believe the campsite is there." Sure enough, our efforts were rewarded. I learned that if we fix our eyes on the living water, we will get to the destination God has designed for us even when the backpack seems heavy on our shoulders.

Hebrews 12:1-4: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

The last day hike of 12 miles back to Trail Ridge Road was many miles from where we parked our car. I had learned the lessons of eating and drinking a sufficient amount to maintain my stamina. I also learned how to purify water from the stream. God is looking for consistency in our Christian life and desires a humble and pure heart so we can see and understand His kingdom. God provided a ride with a neat Christian guy to get back to our parked car. We saw God working in each of these episodes.

Matt. 5:3,8: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

Mark Pomeroy