2016年2月21日
走出山谷 The View from the Mountain
读经: 腓立比書4章8-13節
Reading: Philippians 4:8-13
所以你們若真與基督一同復活，就當求在上面的事。-歌羅西書3章1節
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above. Colossians 3:1
全年读经: 民數記1-3章;馬可福音3章
Bible in a Year: Numbers 1–3; Mark 3
愛達荷州的山谷在冬天會變得很冷，雲海和濃霧會像毯子一般覆蓋著山谷，並將冷空氣鎖在較暖的空氣層之下。但你可以離開酷寒的山谷到雲海之上。山谷的旁邊是海拔2287公尺的謝弗孤峰（Shafer Butte），你可以沿著蜿蜒的山路駕車離開山谷。幾分鐘後，你就會穿越雲霧，進入陽光普照、溫暖明亮的山上。你能以不同的角度向下觀看覆蓋山谷的雲海。
人生有時也是如此，困境好像雲霧一般籠罩我們，陽光無法穿透。然而，信心能帶我們走出山谷，憑著信心我們「求在上面的事」（歌羅西書3章1節） 。當我們如此行，上帝會賦予我們超越困境的能力，以及每日所需的勇氣和平安，如同使徒保羅所記：「我無論在什麼景況都可以知足，這是我已經學會了。」 （腓立比書4章11節）
靠著那加給我們力量的基督耶穌 （13節） ，我們可以走出苦難和黑暗的低谷，在山上坐一陣子，並以不同的角度看待我們所經歷的困難。
雖然有時我無法感受到祢、
無法看見祢所動的工，
但主啊，我要在祢的愛中得著安息。
信心可以帶你跨越恐懼。
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Our valley in Idaho can be very cold in the winter. Clouds and fog roll in and blanket the ground, trapping frigid air under warmer layers above. But you can get above the valley. There's a road nearby that winds up the flank of Shafer Butte, a 7,500-foot mountain that rises out of our valley. A few minutes of driving and you break out of the fog and emerge into the warmth and brilliance of a sunlit day. You can look down on the clouds that shroud the valley below and see it from a different point of view.
Life is like that at times. Circumstances seem to surround us with a fog that sunlight cannot penetrate. Yet faith is the way we get above the valley—the means by which we "set [our] hearts on things above" (Col. 3:1). As we do, the Lord enables us to rise above our circumstances and find courage and calmness for the day. As the apostle Paul wrote, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances" (Phil. 4:11).
The Lord enables us to rise above our circumstances and find courage and calmness.
We can climb out of our misery and gloom. We can sit for a time on the mountainside and through Christ who gives us strength (v. 13) we can gain a different perspective.
Although I can't always see You or what You're doing, Lord, I rest in Your love for me.
Faith can lift you above your fears.