The bighorn sheep in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park will often allow visitors to approach them from below and take close-up photos. But don’t try to get above them or the entire herd will run away.
The bighorns’ escape route from predators is always upward. On level ground a bobcat or cougar can easily overtake the wild sheep, but scrambling up a boulder-strewn slope, the bighorns will get away every time.
Years ago a speaker said, “No matter what danger you face from trouble and temptation, don’t let it get between you and God.” As Christians, our route is always upward toward the Lord, never downward into sin and self-pity.
The psalmist’s words remind us how to keep difficulty on the downhill side: “My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You and I will look up” (Ps. 5 v 3). Then in a beautiful picture, David described how God answered his prayer for help: “He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and sets me on my high places.”
In the Prayer Book’s page for today there is a lovely photo of snow covered mountains at Keswick. As a family we had a fantastic holiday there a number of years ago. On one of the long walks I did with my sons we were climbing up a very rough and rocky trail. We had to be very careful where we stepped. My excuse for stopping often (I needed to catch my breath) was so that I could admire the scenery, which was stunning.
Sometimes we are being so careful in the way we walk that we miss the beauty all around. Thanks be to God that we can be sure of our footing when we walk close to Jesus.