Climbing the Ladder

Today my goal was to pressure-wash our house. It needed to be done, and I had both the time and the motivation to do it. Before I started, I thought the biggest trouble might be the ladder—I don’t climb up ladders as frequently as I eat cookies or play volleyball. But that wasn’t the trouble; after a few shaky steps, I got used to it. Then I anticipated the trouble might be the pressure-washer itself—it was kind of awkward, and I had no experience. But again, it was easy to adjust to. The biggest trouble was actually something I never expected. Something very tiny.

The biggest trouble was the bugs—the flies and gnats that kept buzzing about my head and landing on me, making me want to swat them instead of staying focused.

Well, fortunately I got distracted from the bugs with an analogy: sometimes it’s not the big things that make us shaky in life; sometimes it’s just the bugs. We anticipate that the big decisions and the big events will be what bring us down—and frequently, they do. However, we must be mindful of the small things that distract us from our goal. Don’t let the “flies”—the “little” words, attitudes, and actions of frustration, pride, jealousy, etc.—be what throw you off the ladder. We need to go higher, to go deeper into God, even though that means being further off the ground. We need to press on, and sometimes it’s the “flies” that get us more discouraged than the height. So don’t grow weary in doing good. Don’t become discouraged when you see that “flies” still land on you. Remember the goal. There’s work to be done—work that God planned from before the foundation of the world. Don’t give up. Trust God with the flies, focus on the goal, and keep climbing the ladder.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” –Romans 8:1

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith….” Hebrews 12:1-2