Recently JoAnn and I went for a hike up Iron Mountain. Jo and I love to hike together because it gives us great alone time in which we can just be together without an agenda. Our only purpose is to have fun hiking and be with each other.

This was the first time we had done Iron Mountain, so the night before I Googled up some information about the hike. On one of the review sites, I saw the most interesting comment. Someone said something like, “This is a fun hike, but it’s uphill all the way to the top of the mountain.”

Uphill.

Isn’t it the truth that if we want to get tot he top of the mountain, we have to go uphill? The problem is, we all want to be at the top of the mountain without climbing to the top. But here’s reality: There is no such thing as a downhill hike to the mountain top.

I think this is why the Bible is full of scripture like this one:

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. – Romans 5:3-4

Every believer wants to live a life that is dominated by faith and hope. Yet there is only one path that produces that fruit, and that path begins with suffering.

You’ve been in the midst of suffering and the only thing you can think about is “why?” Why is this happening to me? Why does it have to be so hard? Why can’t I just get the promotion? Why can’t I get along with my family? Why do I have to work so hard and have so little to show for it? Why, why why why?

God says, “Check this out: I’m making you stronger. The longer you stay in suffering the better you are able to handle it. The better you can handle the suffering the more you’re going to figure out My ways are best. The more you figure out My ways are best, you will choose my My ways–that’s character. The more you choose My ways (character) the more you get to see Me work. The more you get to see Me work, the more hope you will carry with you.”

You see, God is calling you to a mountain top experience. Paul calls it the “upward call of Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13).” But you cannot get there by going downhill.

When JoAnn and I made it to the top of Iron Mountain the next day, we got a treat: one of the best views of San Diego county one can experience. We saw all the way from the Coronado Islands, out to La Jolla, and up to Escondido. Wow.

When we set out after Jesus’ upward call, we get a different view as well. The higher we climb, the better we see from His perspective. When we see what God sees, it is impossible to do anything but hope.