It was a typical day in Lesotho, Africa, a beautiful country known for being the most mountainous in the world. We got news from our ministry partner that instead of going back to our African village to continue serving the locals, we would be accompanying one of the shepherds to His village to be part of a bible study. We were about to embark on a two hour “walk” to reach this village. Little did we know what this “walk” would entail. We started our journey along the edge of farmland. This is the kind of journey where the path is unknown even though the destination is known, but not seen yet.
As we go along our path following the five shepherds that joined us on this adventure, the incline slowly started increasing and the path became more and more slippery with tiny pebbles sliding our feet every which way. Then we get to a part of the mountain where we start scaling the mountain… you might be thinking ‘sure scaling’ but yes! We got on all fours to pull ourselves up an 80 degree incline. It got so steep I had to trust one of the shepherds to pull me up where my legs didn’t reach. A simple hand was what I had to put my trust into not falling off a side of the mountain.
Then it hit me. This is the perfect metaphor for God and how the World Race would look this next year. My teammates were encouraging each other to get up one of the steepest mountains any of us had ever climbed but we couldn’t hike the mountain for each other. Only they could trust God step by step. See, the beautiful thing is that God knows every step we have already taken and what will be but instead of looking down from the top of the mountain to pep talk us to reach the top he offers a simple hand right where we are at. A hand we can choose to entrust with our body, heart, and soul. A hand that does not grab and pull us but simply is an invitation. We can choose not to take it and let fear inhabit where we are because we feel “stuck”.. unable to repeat our steps down the mountain and unable to muster up our own courage to reach the top. And sometimes the longer we wait the less we see how God “can” guide us up the mountain because the logic side in our head thinks it’s impossible and calculates the risk. Our other option is to place our hand in the Lord’s hand. This is not saying that fear doesn’t exist, but the courage God gives us triumphs Earthly fear. When we take out our hand and place it in the Lord’s we give up knowing the path the Lord is going to take us on. It could be a marked out path straight in front with no twists and turns or it could be scaling a mountain. Either way when we place our hand in the Lord’s palm it is worth it in the end because when we get to the top we have the opportunity to admire the beautiful creation of the world around us. However, more importantly, the hearts of His daughters and sons are being made for who He created us to be.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
