False Summits and Perseverance
The first time I hiked a 14er, nobody warned me about false summits.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of hiking a 14er, it goes like this. At least, this is how 14ers go for me. (My late husband would’ve given you a vastly different description because to him, they actually were pleasurable!)
14er false summits
Essentially, you hike until you think you might die, and then you keep on going. You hike about tree line, and past any training you’ve done. You hike to where the air is so thin, clouds don’t want to be there.
And somehow, you keep going. Just when you believe with everything in you you that you cannot physically take another step… you see it! Just up ahead! The top of the mountain!
Suddenly, adrenaline and hope push your heavy feet forward, further up the mountain. Victory of reaching the top is so close you can taste it. So you press on.
And then. You arrive.
And every bit of hope drains from your body and your shoulders slump because instead of views as far as the eye can see, now all that’s in your sight is a huge ridge of more hiking to get to the actual summit.
And this is what is called a “false summit.”
Real life false summits
I gave up 14ers long ago, but I’ve had so many false summits in my life since then. In labor. In health crises. In mental health crises. In trials and chaos. In grief and loss. In spiritual torment and warfare.
Times where I pushed my heart and body way past anything I could physically or emotionally bare… and then pushed even further anyways. Pressing on and drawing near the finish line… only to discover somebody supernaturally pushed the finish line 50 more miles further.
Something happens in a soul that keeps going in these conditions. And then when knocked lower than low, to keep going again… It’s supernatural in its own right. Some call this grit. Some call it perseverance. I call it hoping against hope.
It’s when someone sucker punches you, you stand up again. When then they kick you, you get up again. When you think you can’t go on, you get on your feet again.
How hope is forged
Apostle Paul explains it this way… that our troubles and sufferings produce endurance. And this endurance produces virtue and character. And this character produces hope. The kind of hope that is fierce and unrelenting and looks ridiculous in the eyes of man. God promises our hope will not disappoint us nor put us to shame because of the love of God that’s poured into us through this whole painful process. That’s the supernatural fuel that keeps us going when we don’t think we can. We when actually know we can’t. God’s love fuels our endurance and character and gives us the gift of hope.
I’ll be honest. This is not easy. There’s nothing easy about the process of getting filled with hope. But I can’t imagine a life without it.
Check out this passage in these different translations and you’ll find even more revelation about what Paul is talking about here…
Romans 5
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:2-5, ESV
Through Him we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [our great] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power]. 3 And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; 4 and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. 5 Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:2-4, AMP
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Romans 5:3-5, MSG
Selah.
Til next time, toodle-loo. And may Hope be your companion today.
