For the last few years, one of my passions has become rock climbing.  I love the exhilaration that comes as you complete a problem that you thought was beyond your abilities.  There is this sense of accomplishment and it drives you to try even harder and more technical routes.  Unfortunately, I have sort of hit a plateau. 

The last few months have not seen a lot of improvement. From what I have been reading, this is fairly common for mid-level climbers.  When a person first starts climbing, progress comes from learning the basics and gaining confidence.  Then, as holds get smaller and routes steeper, most of us, myself included, focus on building strength. Pull-ups, crunches, grip strength, they all contribute substantially to your climbing ability … up to a point.  However eventually, no matter how strong you are, there is just no way that you are going to be able to muscle your way up a climb with hand holds the size of dimes.  What most of us do at this point is we try harder.  We try to grip stronger, or pull faster.  We get to the gym more, but still not a lot of progress is made.

They key, I am told, is to quit trying to just climb stronger and start climbing smarter.  I have been reading about the need to take a few steps back and work on technique and body position rather than just strength.

With the New Year come hundreds of resolutions.  Frequently for us as Christians, those resolutions focus on getting stronger in our faith, to try harder or maybe to just not mess up so much this year.  That might include a commitment to read the Bible in a year, to join an accountability group, or just to avoid that familiar sin that keeps plaguing us.  All of those have merit, but we must not confuse getting stronger in our understanding and discipline as Christians with walking closer with Jesus.  They are not the same. 

The former may help us through some tough times, and may even keep us in the game early on, but as we continue in our journey, eventually it will not be enough.  Eventually we will need to be more than just determined wannabes, we will need to be the real deal – disciples of our Lord.  We will need to learn to walk closely with him, to hear his voice, and to not just move in our great strength whenever the mood is right, but to purpose our movements in line with the route that he has drawn out for us.   It may require us to take a few steps back, in humility, and not flex our spiritual muscles so obviously, but in the end, we will find ourselves climbing higher and farther than we ever imagined.

See you on the ROCK.

To the King,

David