vertical alignment

It occurred to me on a recent walk that when it comes to spiritual exercise we do not need a "well rounded" workout.  If we're talking about physical exercise we probably should work all the muscle groups, including that most important muscle- the heart.  We may tend to repeat the same kinds of exercise because they are the most enjoyable or the most convenient but we need discipline to balance out the effort.  But when it comes to spiritual exercise we need a different kind of discipline...the discipline to keep looking and listening in the vertical dimension.   I think we need to "overwork" the vertical through prayer, praise, meditation on the Word and thoughts of God because the horizontal dimension of living our our days tends to sweep us away.  The stronger our pillar of relationship with God...and the more vital and real He has become...the less we are drawn astray, aside and away from abundant living.  That's one of the reminders I get each morning as I walk the forest trail near my home because virtually all the trees surrounding me are faithful to point upward, as they align to the sun.  As my thoughts align with those trees and I point vertically also, I am realigned with the One who can keep me from all the sideways forces that seek to knock me off the trail.

Philippians 3:¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.