Ladders

LADDERS

       The town of Grand Junction, Colorado is a mecca of community artwork.  Their main street is dotted by over a hundred creative pieces of art.  The bronze sculpture above can be interpreted in various ways.  The artist probably meant for it to represent "climbing the ladder of success." 
       I see it differently.  When I read my devotional in Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, yesterday, I was reminded of this picture of a ladder that I took many years ago. Imagine Jesus saying to us, "If you encounter a problem with no immediate solution, your response to that situation will take you either up or down.  You can lash out at the difficulty, resenting it and feeling sorry for yourself.  This will take you down into a pit of self-pity.  Alternatively, the problem can be a ladder, enabling you to climb up and see your life from My perspective.  Viewed from above, the obstacle that frustrated you is only a light and momentary trouble."

       A second picture featuring a ladder shows me climbing up a ladder out of an Indian kiva in Mesa Verde, Utah.  I'm looking happy and relieved to be climbing out of the small, dark underground kiva.

       This reminds me of the verses David wrote in Psalm 40:  "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.  He has put a new song in my mouth - praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord" verses 1-3.

       Being pulled up or climbing out of any kind of pit is cause for celebration and praise to almighty God.  Yet, as we're reminded throughout scripture, experiencing a stopover in a pit is part of our growth process.  The key is to learn the lesson as quickly as possible and climb out of that pit by the power of the Lord.  And don't forget to use the ladder to climb up and see what you've gone through from heaven's view.  Nothing happens by accident -- not even pits along our pathway.

     Finally, I'm reminded of one more ladder picture I took in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the Church of the Spilled Blood.  This mosaic shows the angels in the dream Jacob had on his journey to Haran.
 

       Here's what the Bible tells us about Jacob's dream:  "...and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  And behold, the Lord stood above it..." Genesis 28:12.

       In spite of Jacob's less than stellar character (he was a deceiver and usurper), God blessed him in that place and promised to make he and his offspring a great nation.  

       God's grace showered on such a flawed man as Jacob gives us great hope, knowing that no matter how flawed we may be, God can and will use us to do great and mighty things in His name and in His strength.

       His amazing grace is like a ladder into heaven, lifting us beyond the ordinary and into the wondrous presence of Holy God.