Beyond BeliefSample

A few years ago, a guy who had climbed Mount Everest wrote a book about his experience. One thing he wrote about was how his mood changed during the days it took him to climb the world's highest peak. He said it was much easier to climb on days when the sky was clear and he could actually see the top of the mountain.

He was able to focus more, climb faster, and feel better about the challenges ahead. But on days when it got cloudy and he couldn't see the summit, things changed. He felt discouraged and nervous. He didn't make it as far on those days and was more tempted to give up and go back down to the bottom.

Following God can sometimes feel the same way. When life is going well, we can feel energized and focused, thankful to God for everything we have. But when things in life get difficult, it's harder to trust God. We get discouraged and doubtful. We start wondering if it's worth it to trust God.

One of the challenges of trusting God is learning that things aren't always what they seem. Paul told the Corinthians that following God isn't about what you can see, but what you have faith in. So even if everything around us looks stormy and challenging, we can still learn to trust that God is taking care of us — just like the peak of Mount Everest was still there, even on the cloudiest of days.