Scaling Any Wall

In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.

Psalm 18:29

Several years ago, a friend took me and my children rock climbing. I had never done anything like this before, and, to be honest, it wasn’t my favorite activity. I have some fear of heights, so I didn’t enjoy hanging from my fingertips on an almost vertical wall some thirty feet above the ground. My children, unlike their land-loving father, seemed to be just as comfortable dangling on some precipice as they were standing on terra firma. They could scale cliffs that I wouldn’t even try. (Click here to see some pictures of this adventure.)

In Psalm 18:29, David exults, “[W]ith my God I can scale any wall.” He had abundant confidence, not in his own ability, but in the power of God. This reminds me of Paul’s exuberant confession in Philippians, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

In some ways, God is like the belaying rope that attaches to the safety harness of a rock climber. Though you might lose your grip and begin to slip in life, God won’t let you fall to your destruction. But God does more than offer safety when our own efforts fail. He also empowers us through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Thus we live our lives, not in our own strength, but in the very strength of God. The more we believe this, the more we’ll have the courage to scale any wall.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What “walls” are you facing right now for which you need God’s strength? If you truly believed that God’s power is available to you, what would you attempt that you’re holding back from right now?

PRAYER: Gracious God, there have been times when I’ve felt like I’m dangling from some vertical rock face, soon to fall to my death. How thankful I am that you have been there to save me! In so many ways you are my faithful “belayer.”

But you are so much more, dear Lord. You not only keep me from falling, but also give me strength to succeed. You help me do what I could never do on my own. Thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit resident within me.

Give me boldness, Lord, to attempt great things for you. May I live each day with the confidence of David, knowing that I can scale any wall when you are helping me. Amen.