Often times on Wednesday morning I’ll attempt to make a 5:00am spinning class (indoor cycling) at the gym at which my wife and I are members.  I don’t have perfect attendance, but I’m fairly proud to be among the 8-10 crazies that could be called regulars.

The instructor that leads the class is quite intense.  What comes to your mind when you think “Military Drill Sargent”?  Yep.  That’s what comes to my mind too.  And that describes this instructor perfectly.

One thing this instructor LOVES to do is “gradual climbs.”  Basically we ride for 15 minutes or so, and every 20-30 seconds we increase the tension on the bike one-half-turn.  We do this at least twice, sometimes three times if he’s feeling extra generous.

One Wednesday morning, during one of our gradual climbs, everyone thought we were coming to the end of the climb and so we all looked at the instructor, waiting for the “ease up the tension!” command. But it never came.  He saw our tired eyes staring at him, and so he offered some encouragement.

“Don’t worry, we’re still climbing!”

He had a smirk on his face…as if to say, “Nice try, suckers.”  And so we kept climbing.

But it got me thinking.  That’s how life is, right?  It really doesn’t matter what aspect of life we’re talking about – navigating marriage, parenting kids, launching a new business, building a ministry – there’s an aspect where we will always be climbing.  There will always be a hill in front us.

Sure, some hills may be bigger than others, but rarely in life do we get to just coast.  And come to think of it – would we want to coast if that was an option?  Isn’t climbing hills, taking new ground, changing personally (inside and out), and creating momentum part of the excitement of life?

As image-bearers of the Creator God, part of our wiring is to build, create, move, change, inspire and empower…we were made for climbing life’s hills!  I’m seeking to change my perspective on the hills of life – big and small.  Hills can mean pain and struggle…but they can also be great indicators that it’s not over yet, no matter how we feel.

What if we saw the challenges of life as an opportunity to stretch our God-given muscles to climb?  What if challenges were proof that we were, in fact, still in the game and have something incredible to offer our world?

Maybe you think you’re about tapped out of energy, and you can’t do much more.  I’d offer the same words my instructor offered the class:

Don’t worry, you’re still climbing.