It sometimes is but a smooth footpath unwinding it’s way over flat fields or brushy prairies, through scattered woods and mild hills, all teasing my senses with their scents, colors, feel… I’m tempted to slow down my walking pace and let myself distracted, tempted to stop and gaze around. Well, it’s His creation after all, I’m just admiring it and thus better comprehending the wisdom of His thought. This is when He gently whispers “Carry on, my son, there’s a long ride ahead… Take a glimpse, it helps, breathe deep and carry on…“.
There are other hikers around but solo is better, sweeter… No conversations going on, more time to ponder at His works! (or at least so I think…)
Hills get steeper and my breathing habits need adjustment… I see at the far left those fields I’ve left behind and heading towards them is so tempting. I hear that whisper again… “Perseverance brings glory, my son… You’ll soon see My glory in its entirety!“. Slowly, mysteriously, progressively, this Voice captivates me, the grace of the vistas around seem to fade and so does my desire to return. More of this Voice, of It’s glory, more of the sublime feelings that fill me every time I obey it!…
I notice hikers struggling in the distance. I know it would be nice to go and help them however I can but I’m not determined…
“Love thy neighbor as thyself! Help thy neighbour…“
But I myself am struggling!…
“Stretch your arm, this is My will. As you submit, My strength will abound to you!”
Ugh! The Voice, His voice, so gentle yet so compelling… Slowly, mysteriously, progressively, I understand and press on towards that stranger who just stumbled. To my surprise, he’s a bit of a loner himself. We become friends and help each other as the path gets narrower and steeper… Soon our group is joined by more hikers as we show our willingness to befriend.
Sometimes the footpath is just the tip of a pointy cliff sided by deep valleys. We can’t even hold our hands and the wind puts us down once in a while. Could be a wrong perception but it seems that darkness also closes in…
“Hold on, help is on the way!”
I look around and see no help. Fear, despair and doubt creep in altogether…
But there ahead I see the sublime… There’s a light that somehow brings hope as I stare at it. My expectations and intentions now seem so unfit… I though I could descend the cliff so that it’s edge would protect us somehow against the strong winds but now I realize that such a maneuver would have prevented that light, His light, from guiding us. I cannot see even one step ahead but I gaze at Him and find peace…
Peace unexplainable, strength abounding, joy unspeakable!
“Keep on, my son!… I will provide!”
* * *
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness”1
Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.2
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.3
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.4
No Comments