Strength for the Heights

Recently, I was speaking with some friends who had climbed Mount Ararat. As they told the story, they described how the climb became more demanding the higher they went. The path grew steeper. The air grew thinner. The rocks grew more unstable. 

Then they told me about their boots—special climbing boots fitted with cleats, small metal grips that dig into the rock. Those cleats didn’t flatten the path or remove the danger. But they gave the climbers the ability to stand where they otherwise would have slipped. Without those cleats, the climb would have been impossible.

That image stayed with me because it offers us a powerful spiritual lesson.

Life, too, has its mountains. We face mountains of illness, grief, uncertainty, financial pressure, family struggles, disappointments, and burdens we did not expect to carry. There are seasons when everything feels steep and difficult. At times, the climb seems endless, and the higher we go, the more demanding life becomes.

But here’s the good news: God never asks you to climb life’s mountains in ordinary shoes. He equips you for the terrain. He gives you spiritual cleats: grace, strength, courage, patience, faith, hope, prayer, and the quiet assurance of His presence.

The prophet Habakkuk understood this. He looked at a world where the fields were empty, the vines had no fruit, and the stalls had no livestock. Yet in the middle of that hopeless reality, he declared: “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and He enables me to tread on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:17,19).

Friends, God doesn’t always remove the mountain, but He changes our footing. He gives us the strength to climb it. He steadies our feet on rough ground and holds us firm in places where we might otherwise stumble or fall.

So do not be discouraged by the steep places in your life. The God who called you is the God who equips you. He brought you this far, and He’s not about to leave you halfway up. Take your next step with confidence. Trust the One who strengthens your feet. And He will lead you, in His time and mercy, to the heights He has prepared for you.