I have been intending to write this blog for quite some time now. It has been something I have been piecing together in my mind ever since I went hiking back in July for the first time. My cousin asked me if I would go hiking with her and I said yes as I have been trying to get back into shape. It was something new for the both of us. We went early on a Sunday morning and had no idea what to expect. We didn’t know a thing about hiking, trails, what you wear or anything of that nature.
When we got there, we were blessed enough to see these two men. One who hikes all the time and the other was his brother who was accompanying him for the first time. He was explaining to us the different trails, that each trail is marked by their colors so that you don’t get lost. He told us if we do get lost, all we have to do is walk back to where we last saw a marker. He informed us that some trails are more difficult than others because some have more rocks to climb etc. and how long some trails actually are. So we decided to do the blue trail as it seemed something suitable for two people starting out. We thanked them and went on our way.
We quickly realized we were not dressed for the occasion and I quickly realized that I was not in shape to go hiking. I had recently started working out again and truth be told, the more we hiked is the more out of breath I became. I think I was hyperventilating without realizing it at some moments. My cousin exercises consistently and so she was having the time of her life as I struggled to keep up. She would stop and wait for me, to let me catch my breath so we could continue. Some people were running past us, others were laughing and having a full conversation with their friends. Some people had full hiking gear, with backpacks. So we kept going and I saw a frog leap past us. I was becoming one with nature and being stretched outside my comfort zone. I have sprained my left ankle twice and my ankle twisted about two times while we were in the woods.
I had to be more careful as we stepped over tree roots, fallen branches and tree logs. We climbed up and down rocks and we were doing well until we came to a high rock and I flat out said to my cousin. “Oh hell no.” She busted out laughing and I said listen, not today. We did a lot and I have to start out small. She said okay and we started heading back. The whole time we are heading back all I could think about was writing this blog.
Hiking to me was a reminder of life’s journey and our walk with Christ. Sometimes in our walk with Christ, we feel like it’s this mountain we are climbing and we are never going to get to the top. We are on our destined trail, and we have the markings to direct us where to go. We see the markings sometimes through the holy spirit revealing to us where it is we need to go and what it is we need to do. We have gotten a word of prophecy and we begin to believe that word. Then life happens, we come into warfare (the rocks, the tree branches, the tree logs, the frogs leaping across us), and we begin to panic. We realize we don’t have on the right gear and we need to put on the whole armor of God for this journey. We begin to have shortness of breath in our walking or in a spiritual sense we become weary. We get lost along the way and instead of turning back to what God last instructed us to do (going back to the last marker you saw on the trail), you spin a circle like the children of Israel with Moses.
We get so frustrated. Why can’t life be easier? Why can’t there be less pain? Why is the door for this job not opening? Why don’t I have what I need? Why are my finances tied up? Why is this friendship ending? Why is this relationship ending, I invested so much of myself? Why did you let them die God? Why, I needed more time? Why did he/she walk out of my life at the most critical point without so much as looking back? Why does it feel like the walls are caving in? Why do I feel beaten up? Why is my skin breaking out in hives? Why am I having chest pains? Why is this family member sick? We begin to ask the question. Where is God in the midst of all of this? WHERE IS GOD? Has he abandoned me out here in the woods, the wilderness? Has he left me out here to die?
Mind you we are still walking, even if it’s aimlessly. We then get to that final rock, that final test, that final challenge we must face and we sometimes give in. We say enough is enough. We are wearied from the process. Christ is standing there. He never left. How could he? He knows exactly how we feel! He identifies with us. He is that still small voice saying “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17). But I am so tired Lord. I don’t want to fight. I don’t have the strength to climb. And sometimes we miss our destiny because we give up during that final test and we go back the way we came. We go to climbing the same rocks, over the same tree logs, the same tree branches because we are unable to see beyond the mountain. We are unable to see God in the midst of the battle.
I encourage you today as I encourage myself not to give up. Face the mountain. Climb it. Face your Jericho, shout until the walls come down. Keep praying, keep pushing. For I am choosing to believe that God would not bring us to the moment of giving birth and not cause us to deliver our purpose. I know the battle has been intensified. There have been things happening that you are unable to explain, but you have got to climb this mountain. Don’t turn back. It’s time you see what the top looks like. It’s time you enter the promised land. It’s time that you experience your Godly inheritance. To whom much is given, much is required. God loves you, of this I am sure. Whatsoever has been spoken over you will come to pass. He sees, he knows. He is causing a shift and a change. Don’t look at the mountain. Allow God to open your spiritual eyes to see what is beyond the mountain. Your destiny.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
FireProof 