Press On

Last year, I visited Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee.  The weekend trip was a simple, birthday retreat.  It was also a much needed getaway.  I needed to hear God’s voice in the whispers of nature. 

The quiet of this rainy Saturday morning was spent working on The RED PRESSpective.  My vision for the blog was hazy; it was missing something.  I had paper everywhere, ideas everywhere.  The words, though, just wouldn’t come.  So, when the rain passed and the afternoon came into view, I decided that it was time to refresh, to clear my head.  I left this cozy cabin and went into Fall Creek Falls State Park. 

As I gazed across the overlook at the waterfall, I was a little underwhelmed.  It was no Niagara Falls and I was more than a bit disappointed.  I thought about getting back in the car and returning to the seclusion of the cabin.  Practicality, however, got the better of me.  “I came to hike Fall Creek Falls,” I thought.  “I didn’t travel all this way for nothing.  Go on down.”  So I did what I had come here to do.  I started for the base.

Going down was relatively easy.  Rocky, of course, but manageable.  It took me no time to navigate the terrain and reach the base of the fall.  At 70 degrees, it had been a nice, brisk walk and I hadn’t even broken a sweat.

I was much more appreciative of the fall after making the effort to see it up close.  It was beautiful.  Stunning, even.  Much more breathtaking than seeing it from the top.  Sometimes a change of perspective makes all the difference.  “This is exactly what I needed,” I thought.  It was full of the revelation of God.  “…Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” “And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people…”  The rush of the fall.  The still pool underneath.  The water was all power and all peace. I sat down and soaked in, what to me was, the mist of God’s Spirit.  I reveled in the refreshing that it brought and the safety that I felt in the cleft of this rock.  Surely, I thought, this is the lesson: bathing in the beauty. 

I was wrong.

The lesson was in the trip back up.  At about ½ a mile, I thought that the ascent would be easy too.  No sweat…literally.  That’s what I thought. 

The first few return steps were effortless.  I walked carefully, taking measured steps along the wet, uneven mountainside.  But then…I slipped and fell.  Not far and not hard, but I fell.  No, I wasn’t hurt.  (Thanks for asking)  I got up, dusted myself off, and kept moving along. 

But then my thighs started to burn.  Now, I’m not the most active person, nor am I in the best shape, but I can hold my own.  “Okay…I’ve got this!”  Walk through the pain.  Press on.

And then my heart started to race and my breathing became labored.  “I guess I do need to work out more often,” I thought.  Whew! 

I had to stop a few more times.  Climb, sit down, drink some water, breathe.  Press on.  Repeat.

This staircase, hewn out of tree roots and rocks, was like climbing a stairway to Heaven.  “Ahhh…this is it. This is the lesson.”

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.”

The journey, the onward and upward press to the fulfillment of God’s promises, can be (will be) a struggle.  We encounter natural obstacles on a spiritual road.  Sometimes in our walk with the Lord, our paths are wet – either from our tears or from the rain of circumstance that has fallen (or maybe both).  We slip.  It’s rocky and steep.  We lose our footing.  We’re unsure about taking the next step.  We’re just. so. tired. 

Climb (Isaiah 40:31)

Sit down (Matthew 11:28)

Drink some water (John 4:14)

Breathe (John 14:26)

Press on (Galatians 6:9)

Repeat

This hike to Heaven takes. so. much.

We aren’t sure that the pain is worth it. 

It is…you are…

Maturing in faith, stepping into eternity, require more of me.  Fall Creek Falls taught me that, far too often, I find beauty in the product, but not in the process.  I’m learning to be patient in the press.  That’s what the vision for The RED PRESSpective is all about.  I see it clearly now.  Press on.      

Many say that this year, 2020, is the year of perfect perspective, insight and vision.  I believe that.  The thing is, though, we don’t know that we have 20:20 vision until our sight has been tested (We walk by faith and not by sight).  Favor…opportunities…increase…Kingdom authority…destiny…these beautiful blessings that we expect to see…are likely to come with some processing.  Stay the course.  To whom much is given, much is required.  Press on, sister. Press on. 

PRINCIPLE:  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Philippians 3:12