Wim Hof is a bit strange. He likes to swim deep under the arctic ice in just a pair of shorts and run in the desert heat without drinking any water. Wim holds the world’s record for the longest ice bath and can even control his body temperature with his mind. But the Dutchman’s oddest feat took place on a mountain on the Nepalese and Chinese border.
On a very cold day in 2007, Wim donned his shorts and shoes, and without even a T-shirt began to summit Mt. Everest. He just about made it to the top. Less than a mile from the summit, a recurring foot injury forced him to turn back. I wonder what the Sherpas thought when they saw this bearded man in tan shorts and a red headband show up at base camp. They and the multitude of mountain climbers dressed in their expensive high-tech climbing clothing and gear must have thought he was insane.
"Is there a better way to make us lose the battle before we even begin than to load us down with cumbersome, heavy, and unnecessary gear?"
Wim Hof has a twin in the Old Testament. David, armed with only a sling and some stones, took down Goliath, the champion of the Philistine army with years of training and the most advanced weaponry of his time. The same daring attitude and simple approach routed a powerful enemy and won the war for Israel. The power was not in the stones or the sling; It rested in a simple attitude and more importantly, a belief that the battle could be won with the simplest of tools.
One of the biggest lies the evil one tells us when embarking on these challenges is our “need” to pack heavily and bring every “tool” to face the battle. These come in the form of countless hours of study, the correct rituals and theological arguments, and advanced degrees in theology. Is there a better way to make us lose the battle before we even begin than to load us down with cumbersome, heavy, and unnecessary gear? There certainly isn’t anything wrong with these things. But they do little in the form of fighting the giants we find in the spiritual realm.
Jesus doesn’t ask us to climb Everest, run the Nairobi Desert, or dive the Marianas Trench. However, he does ask us to do those very same feats in an unseen realm filled with untold spiritual battles. And tools we need to win these battles are light and simple.
One of the biggest lies the evil one tells us when we embark on these challenges is our “need” to pack heavy and bring every “tool” to the battlefield.
“Have you studied enough?”
“Did you perform the correct ritual?”
“Why are you even trying…only those with a degree in theology can win these battles. You’ll never succeed.”
Is there a better way to make us lose the battle before we even start than to load us down with cumbersome, heavy, and unnecessary gear? There certainly isn’t anything wrong with these things. However, they do little in fighting our spiritual Goliaths. Instead, we ought to arm ourselves with the simple and light tool of grace.
”For, there is not for us {i.e. we don't have} a Priest's Chief who is unable to suffer with our weakness, but rather, He was tested in everything like us; apart from sin. Therefore, let us draw near with an open eye {i.e. with boldness}, unto The Throne of His Grace, so that we might receive mercies, finding Grace to aide in seasons of tribulation.” -- Hebrews 4:15-16
Grace is simply the divine power to overcome temptations and weaknesses. We get this grace, not through intellect or trying harder. It comes only through simple prayer and closeness with God. All that’s needed is to approach God and ask him to give us this power to overcome. Fighting and winning the battle begins with the important understanding that the first step must be taken boldly and without a heavy load. Before David went to fight Goliath, King Saul's entourage tried to load David down with heavy armor. Fortunately, David refused them and relied on what he knew would work; the grace of God. The Philistines laughed at him in much the same way the climbers and trek leaders laughed when Wim took his first steps on the snow and ice toward the peak of Everest.
Nothing has changed since the day David implanted the rock in Goliath's forehead. We have the same power given to us as it was given to David. The problem is we rarely use it. Instead, we rely on our own power and fail miserably.
Wim Hof can climb the highest mountains and swim the coldest waters. But the son or daughter of God can overcome infinitely more if we would only use the simple tool of grace.