THE UPHILL ROAD

1 Cor. 10:13 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. (NIV)

As a teenager when I first came to know Christ, I told myself that living a Christian life would become much easier as I grew older. How mistaken I was. I found it to be uphill all the way.

When I was much older, I visited Israel and at last understood why people always referred to ‘going up to Jerusalem ’. There’s no way to get there except up. It is built on a hill and all roads lead upward. In fact, uphill would describe most of the Holy Land .

How mistaken I was. I found the Christian way to be uphill all the way. Every age has challenges, emotions and disciplines to be conquered.
Sometimes we slide back down that hill and have to climb it once more.

Some things I have learned on the climb, God never asks me to tackle
anything that he did not give me the strength to handle through his Holy Spirit.

God is faithful. I found I could always count on him, but sometimes he tests me severely before showing his faithful side.

Once I learned that God had given me the power to transform myself through the renewing of my mind. I found that when my self control is tested, I allow my mind to fill with the promises of God.

He has given us this wonderful method of transformation, but often we fight, struggle and scream in anguish before we realize that he has already given us the power, we must use it before it will change us.

.....Ivie Bozeman (Ivie@rose.net) by way of "Christian Voices" (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net)