Straps fastened tight around my aching hips, forty pounds of supplies weighing on my back, my feet plod step after step, mile after mile along the path through the woods.
Although my pack is heavy, my spirit eagerly presses onward.
After six weeks of complete immersion in American culture, my soul is craving the quiet and solitude found deep in the woods. When I found out we were being sent back into wilderness for our first week in Georgia my flesh moaned, but my soul knew it was exactly what I needed.
While trekking miles away from comfort to meet with the Lord isn’t always necessary, the solitary place found in the woods is beyond comparison.
I soon forget the growing numbness in my back as my thoughts are captured by the sanctuary around me.
The forest engulfs me, nature whispering His personality.
Pine trees shoot like love arrows into the soft ground- the heart of the Divine claiming the earth as its own.
Brilliant rays of light strike through the trees and sparkle on water droplets hanging from the leaves, lighting the path into His Kingdom.
Eventually we come to a waterfall.
Casting aside our packs, we gaze in awed silence as furious white sheets dance and tumble over the cliffs crashing into the cool blue pools beneath. The unharnessed energy roars overs us and rumbles deep in our chest.
This is my love for you, my darling.
Torrents of blessings pouring out upon you, cascades of favor that never cease.
It just keeps coming,
and coming,
and coming.
Spread out your arms and receive it.
For miles we follow that river, weaving in and out of trees, up and over mountains. Sometimes it forms into a giant, glassy current quietly slipping through the trees without a sound; other times it appears as a rushing torrent crashing through the rocky boulders.
As I sit icing my feet in the cool streams after we have finally set up camp for the night, I’m baffled at how the same river that made such a roar earlier can be so quiet in this place.
And yet, it’s still moving.
It’s always moving.
The same amount of water that was rushing over those cliffs is the amount flowing in this current before me, regardless of how quietly it flows.
The same is true with God’s love.
At times we are swept up in energetic emotion as we feel His love crashing down over our spirits. We drop to our knees in wonder at the sheer monstrosity of the torrents. He overwhelms us and breaks us. It’s monumental, pivotal, and beautiful, leaving us shaken and in awe of His power.
But other times the living waters are quiet. We are carried along in gentle canals that are so deep only an occasional ripple reminds us He is still there. It’s so quiet we may even wonder, is He moving at all?
And yet, the water never stops flowing.
His love is never ending and ever changing. He is always moving us.
In fact, more water is transported in deep, gentle canals than in the loud rushing waterfalls. Often times we too are carried much farther distances in the quiet seasons (though they may seem uneventful) than in the emotional energetic ones.
So don’t let yourself be discouraged if you are in a quiet season. While emotions are powerful and certainly have purpose, they can be deceptive. If you don’t feel Him, it doesn’t mean that He is isn’t there.
His love is so much deeper than that.
He is still moving even if you don’t see it.
While emotional waterfalls allow us a glimpse at the sheer magnitude of His love and give us points to look back on and remember, the same magnitude is always present.
The moment you begin to question or wonder, think back to that waterfall and realize just how much water is flowing within and around you.
