In November I was in Colorado Springs, and a friend suggested that I hike “The Incline”, which is a flight of stairs that goes all the way up a mountain. When hiking you gain 2000 ft. of altitude in a mile, so really steep. As I made my way up the mountain, lungs and legs burning, it occurred to me that climbing a mountain is a lot like following Jesus.

Before you climb a mountain you first look around at the flatness around you, and realize that the view from the top has to be a lot better. Similarly, when one becomes a Christian they first look around at their lives and see their brokenness, their addictions, and their shortcomings and say, “I want to look more like Jesus.” You look up and see Jesus at the top of the mountain and begin your journey.

The first part of the hike is always the easiest. You are excited, it’s usually not too steep, and you are full of energy. But there comes a point in every hike when the terrain gets tougher, your legs and lungs burn. You look up and realize there is so much left. You think, “There is no way I can keep going.” “Maybe I should just turn around.” “Is it even worth it to keep going?” Have you ever been there in your faith? I have. I get caught in old patterns of sin, or seasons of loneliness, and I wonder “Is following Jesus worth it?” “Maybe I should just give up this Christian thing and go back to my old life.” So, what do you do?

1. Don’t compare yourself to those who are further along than you. As a new believer you shouldn’t expect yourself to be at the same level as someone who has been a Christian for 20 years. The process of becoming more like Jesus literally takes a lifetime, don’t get discouraged.
2. Look back at how far you have come. When it feels like you aren’t making progress, look back at the victories and growth you’ve had. Also, here is a good time to have people who encourage you in your faith and celebrate what God has done in you. John Newton once said, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”
3. Take heart that Jesus won’t let you fall all the way back to your starting point when you sin. Back in the day, when I sinned I would beat myself up and think that I was back to square one, and all the growth I had was lost. But that’s a lie. In reality, it was more like falling back 5 steps rather than 200.
4. Take it one step at a time. I know that is cliché, but it’s true. Especially in the tough times, sometimes it takes all your energy to put one foot in front of the other. It doesn’t benefit you to look a mile up the road and trip over a stone right in front of you. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt 6:34).
5. Don’t try to climb alone. “Two are better than one . . . For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). So, seek Christian community. Also, after Jesus sent out his disciples, he said, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). And again, “I will never leave you, or forsake you” (Heb. 13:6). Jesus is always with you. Even when you feel alone, you’re never really alone.
6. Beware the false peaks. You might come to a place in your faith journey where you think you have made it. You are fully mature, and there is nothing else you need to grow in. You’re not there yet. Remember, the goal is to look like Jesus. He is perfect and it is impossible for us to reach perfection on this side of eternity. So, you ask, is the Christian life just like Sisyphus? Constantly pushing the boulder up a mountain only for it to roll to the bottom when we near the top? Always striving towards a goal, and never getting there? No. And here is the difference: in the Christian walk we don’t start over. We keep going and experience new heights, deeper intimacy, and greater maturity. As C.S. Lewis says in the Last Battle, “Come further up, come further in!” Also, unlike Sisyphus, we can rest in Christ. “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).
7. There are no shortcuts, no helicopter rides, and no escalators when following Christ. There is no easy way to holiness, rather we are all called to pick up our cross daily and follow him. Sometimes the path is easy with a gentle incline. Other times it feels like you are free-climbing a vertical wall just trying to keep your grip. The vertical wall is much more difficult and dangerous, but it will also bring you to the top more quickly. In the same way, God uses hardships, trials, and seasons of suffering to expedite the process of making you more like Jesus.

I conclude with some encouragement. “I am sure of this, the He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). No matter where you are in your walk with Christ—if you are just starting, if you feel like you are slipping backward, if you feel like you are at a point where you can’t keep going, if you are making steady and gradual progress— God will not leave you were you are. He loves you too much, and one day He will bring you to the top of the mountain where you will be perfectly one with Jesus. When we get to the top, we will realize that all of the pain and struggle was worth it.