If the valley teaches us gratitude and contentment, the climb reminds us that joy isn’t just found at the top. Sometimes, the most important growth happens while we’re still on the way up.
Climbing isn’t easy. The air gets thinner, the path feels steep, and there are moments when it would be simpler to turn around and settle back in the valley. But it’s in the climb where strength is built. It’s where we learn to lean on God step by step.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4
That verse always stops me in my tracks. Pure joy? In trials? It doesn’t come naturally to think of difficulty as a reason for joy. But the climb is not wasted. Every struggle, every step, every breathless moment is producing something in us that lasts.
Don’t confuse Joy with Happiness either – or at least not the way this world defines happiness. “The pursuit of happiness is the insatiable attempt to control your circumstances because happiness is dependent on everchanging happenings. Joy is found in the everlasting Jesus.” – Pastor Joby Martin sums this up perfectly.
“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13–14
Joy doesn’t come from pretending the climb isn’t hard. It comes from knowing the climb has a purpose. It comes from remembering that God is shaping us with every uphill push. He is strengthening us, preparing us, and drawing us closer to Him.
And when we learn to find joy in the climb, the mountaintop becomes that much sweeter – not because we escaped the valley, but because we discovered God was with us on the journey.
So if you feel like you’re still climbing, take heart. Don’t give up. There is joy to be found right where you are. Every step matters. Every moment matters. And God is using it all to bring you closer to the person He has called you to be.
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