Up-Hill

In numerous sermons, I have recounted the famous incident of Churchill in a fox-hole during WWI. He was as afraid & disillusioned as a human soul can be…& contemplating desertion from the army. He wrote of his miserable condition & confusing thoughts to his love back home…Clementine. She speedily returned a letter to him that quoted their favorite poem by Rosetti. It is also 1 of my all-time favorites…& has often been an instrument of the Spirit of God to encourage my heart while instilling resolve…as it did with Sir Winston Churchill.

Up-Hill

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day's journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when 'ust in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labor you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.

-by Christina Rosetti

This poem (as is often said by critics & admirers), is an allegory…which is a type of poetry that is meant to convey a message or doctrine by using people, places or things to stand for abstract ideas. Rosetti had a very strong belief in the afterlife. Now read the poem again & think of the road as the journey of life & the respondent who answers the questions as God. So in the first stanza the traveler asks, “Does the road wind uphill all the way?” (Is the journey of life uphill all the way?) & God answers "Yes, to the very end" (death). The traveler then asks, "Will the day's journey take the whole long day?" (Will there be any rest during the day from my long journey) God answers no, you will struggle from beginning to end. Then the traveler asks "But is there for the night a resting-place" (Is there life after death) God Answers, "You cannot miss the Inn" (Heaven)...you can figure out the rest.

This is an accurate interpretation in many ways; however, more pertinent to me, is applying the poem as a prophetic call to embrace the principle & power of the Cross of Christ. That makes the Hill a struggle with the obedience of faith & the desire to be a faithful witness.

The “HILL” is our wrestling with the world, flesh & devil; & the “REST” is the fruit & experience that accompanies a revelation of the finished work of HIS cross!!!

Mountain Trailways 4

While many people choose to use the New Year as a time for resolutions, new commitments & priority setting, I have often used the Spring-time for that purpose. I tend to focus on family in December, fast & worship to dedicate a new year in January, pray & write in February, reflect in March, & refocus in April.

It probably started because of the college students in our churches & my own tweenagers’ calendars, but I have found it helpful to journal resolutions & priorities in Dec/Jan, pray & study them in Feb/Mar, & make commitments related to these during the Easter season. For me, this is much more than just a habit or calendar issue though, it is an opportunity to discern the will of the LORD, honor the seasons HE has set, & step out in faith…trusting-obedience.

I want to encourage you to receive of these thoughts, reflect on what Father God is saying to you, & re-commit to the purposes, principles & priorities HE has given you. The following excerpts are from Mrs. Cowman’s Mountain Trailways opening devotional & Amy Carmichael’s journals:

(Christians) “Youth of the world, fellow mountaineers, roadmates, in the name of our loving Master we greet you on this glorious New Year’s (Season’s) morning! Together we stand at the foot of a great mountain range to salute the breaking of the dawn, to renew our covenant with Him, to place anew our hands in His as we begin our journey through the untrodden months ahead. Before us are twelve towering peaks rearing their heads above the snow line. The tang of their icy winds sweeps down upon us. We are awed by their desolate grandeur. Harken! Bugles are sounding. Those who have left the murky mists of the low valleys...beckoning us! The topmost crag challenges us, stirs our blood, and kindles our courage. Our Great Leader cries, “Out! Out! Take the trail!”

Multiplied thousands of Christians & youth are responding to His call to scale the heights, win the prize, “the high callings of God in Christ Jesus"--triumphant mountaineers who will participate in the conquest of the ages. To them, ‘the mountain shall be thine” (Joshua 17:18)—His gracious Word of assurance!

You and I can become Calebs (Read in the book of Joshua.). The hard climb strengthens the muscles; the problem solved trains the mind; the difficulties conquered build character. There is joy unspeakable in conquering mountains, triumphing in His victory!

(Remember)…Our Lord does not ask us to climb in our human strength. “I will gird thee!” He has not bidden us journey alone. “Lo, I am with you!” One Climbs beside you.

Make you away this very hour to the glory—crowned heights with God! Who knows what awaits you! Climb and Listen!” -Mrs. Cowman

Make me Thy mountaineer; I would not linger
On the lower slope.
Fill me afresh with hope, O God of hope;
That undefeated, I may climb the hill, As seeing Hum who is invisible.


Make me to be Thy happy mountaineer,
O God most high;
My climbing soul would welcome the austere;
Lord, crucify, On rock or scree, ice-cliff or field of snow,
The softness that would sink to things below.

Thou art my Guide; where Thy sure feet have trod
Shall mine be set;
Thy lightest word my law of life, O God;
Lest I forget, slip & fall, teach me to do Thy will,
Thy mountaineer upon Thy holy hill.

-Amy Wilson Carmichael

Mountain Trailways 3

In recent months, I have spent much of my free time worshiping with my guitar, hiking in the mountains, & meditating on inspirational passages from my favorite devotional books. 3 of them have impressed me profoundly (Pilgrim’s Progress, Edges of His Ways, & Mountain Trailways). The following thoughts combine excerpts & ideas from these 3 devotionals that have found their way into my 3 leisure activities.

1 Chron. 6:32 “They ministered…with singing.”
Col. 3:16 “Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

“I beheld, then, that they all went on till they came to the foot of the hill Difficulty at the bottom of which was a spring…Christian now went to the spring, & drank thereof to refresh himself, & then he began to go up the hill… And he went up singing.”


Each day of our lives we begin where Christian began—that is if we have found the spring where we drink & refresh ourselves. Yes, there are “Difficulties” in life, but there is a Dayspring to be found devotionally with Christ at the base…beginning of each day.

Onward & Upward…Yes! There is a high calling of God in Christ Jesus, so Let us climb! We need not live on the marsh & in the mists. The slopes & ridges invite us!

Teach me the faith of the mountains, serene and sublime,
The deep-rooted joy of just living one day at a time;
Leaving the petty possessions the valley-folk buy
For the glory of glad wind-swept spaces where earth meets the sky.

Teach me the faith of the mountains, their strength to endure,
The breadth and the depth of their vision, unswerving and sure,
Counting the dawn and the starlight as parts of one whole
Wrought by the Spirit Eternal, within His control.
--Author Unknown

I am believing that some, who have perhaps till now tried to avoid climbing the hill Difficulty, will face it with a new purpose. Do not forget the spring & do not forget the song. “They ministered…with singing.” Let us climb…& let us climb singing!

O Lord, Help us to live a mountain-top life…Help us to live the joy in the journey!