If a mountain were smooth, we couldn’t climb it. It’s the rocky, hard, ups and downs that give us a foothold and make it possible for us to scale a mountain. If life were smooth, never a rocky road or hard times, we wouldn’t succeed at it either. It’s in the tough times that we learn faith. Our reliance on the Father’s care for us is sometimes stretched to limits we never knew existed. In the rocky times we grow. When we come to the end of our abilities and realize that there is no other way but by God’s grace, we increase our faith. When our faith is stretched and our trust grows, we begin to grow in Christ. The ups and downs then develop patience and perseverance as we wait on God’s timing. In the  tough times, we learn faith; and in rocky times, we grow. The ups and downs develop our spiritual muscles. The result is the ability to successfully climb any mountain that the enemy puts in front of us. We can then stand, mature in Christ, and speak to our mountain, “Mountain, go throw yourself into the sea; I do not doubt.”