We made it to the far end of the farm, near the base of the mountain.
“I’m going to build a switchback to the top,” he said.
I gave him my best blank stare.
(I didn’t know what that meant)
He explained: “I could cut a straight trail. But with this slope, you’d burn out in minutes. A switchback zigzags. It takes longer, but you’d reach the summit with gas still in the tank.”
I immediately recognized the life lesson.
Most of us assume when younger that life would be A to B to C. School. Job. Marriage. House. Promotion. Easy climb.
We all know that life doesn’t work like that.
And yet, many of us still struggle.
Life switchbacks. The sideways stretches. The frustrating turns. The moments when it feels like you’re walking backward instead of up. And what are switchbacks really? They are change. You’re moving, but not in the straight line you planned.
In our work, change feels like layoffs, restructuring, or a career that doesn’t go how you pictured. In global missions, change looks like a closed door in one country, a detour into another, or funding that zigzags instead of arriving in a straight line.
The good news is that switchbacks still climb. Change can feel sideways, but in God’s hands, it’s still upward.
James put it this way:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”(James 1:2–4)
Perseverance doesn’t grow on easy paths. It grows in the switchbacks of change.
You’re Not Climbing Alone
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5)
Think about the timing. Within hours, they would scatter in fear, wondering if everything had fallen apart. They were about to hit the hardest switchback of their lives. And Jesus tells them, “Stay connected. Remain in me. I haven’t left you.”
That’s the same invitation for us. Trials and change can make us feel like God stepped out of the room. But He hasn’t. Every turn, every detour, every sideways stretch, He is still the vine, and we are still the branches.
In our work, this means our careers don’t define us. Our connection to Him does. In missions, this means God is guiding His church forward, even when the path zigs instead of running straight to the summit.
Next Step
Identify one “switchback” in your life this week. Instead of resenting it, ask God: “How are You using this turn to grow perseverance in me?” Write it down. Pray over it. And trust that every step, forward, sideways, or backward, is still climbing.
