Keep Walking Up the Stairs

The Staircase StoryThis past Easter I was fortunate enough to share it with my family in New York City.  We were visiing my older sister and were all in one place.  My little sister really wanted to go to Hillsong Church NYC for Easter service, so I went with her.  We got to the Manhattan Center (where the church is located) early and were among the first people in.  Now this was our first time so we knew nothing of what to expect.  When we got in the lobby there was a long line for the elevator, but there were stairs right next to it.  In my head I figured it would be a couple flights of stairs and we'd be there.  The staircase was such that it was about 10 steps a piece and then you would reach a flat spot.  Each flat spot would have you turn right and go up another 10 steps.  This went on for what felt like 20 different staircases.  And that early in the morning thats not what I wanted to do.  The church did have people at every 5 staircases or so that had water and were encouraging you letting you know you only have a little ways further.  It was exhausting to walk up all those stairs that morning, but we ultimately made it and were able to enjoy a great service celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.Lesson #1:  God Only Shows Us What We Need to See Right Now     Now think about it.  If I had known that there were that many stairs, either my sister or I may have decided to wait for the elevator.  We wouldn't have gotten up to the top as fast as we did, and we would have had a worse seat.  The sheer magnitude of the amount of steps probably would have scared us off.  But we didn't see the entire stair case.  We were only focused on 10 steps at a time.God does the same thing with our lives.  He doesn't reveal His entire plan to us at once, he gives it to us in pieces the He knows we can handle and are ready for.  If we focus on those pieces we will ultimately get closer and closer to where He would have us.  He knows that if He told us the whole thing we may walk away from it or it may frighten us.Lesson #2: God will Always Provide Us Encouragement and SupportI love what the church did.  They knew that we would be thinking about giving up at certain times, so they placed volunteers in strategic places that would provide water and encourage guests as they are beginning to wear down.God also encourages us and puts people similar to these volunteers in our lives when we may be tired or ready to give up.  He continues to get us to push onward.What I LearnedThis is simple.  We kept going and climbing stairs because we knew that the end result was.  It was easier for me only seeing one piece at a time, but what kept me going was the joy I knew I was going to have once we reached our goal.1 Corinthians 10:13"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it"