One of the perks of having the squad all together this month is doing fun actives together. The other night our squad leader Mike asked us all to grab our sweaters, hiking shoes and a blindfold. We were not only asked to walk in the dark completely blind, but also in complete silence.
All 50 of us lined up, but our blindfolds on, put our hands on the persons shoulders in front of us, kept quite, and marched out into the darkness.
We walked to Ryan, one of the other team leaders, who talked to us about fear. How often there are scales over our eyes that keep us walking around blind in the dark. He asked us to consider what we were afraid of, what was holding us back from being bold for Jesus, what we were blind of.
All 50 of us continued to walk in silence not knowing where each step would take us. Not knowing what was ahead of us or where exactly we were going. All we knew is that someone was leading us and we just had to follow the person in front of us. This was no easy path we were walking around in, keep in mind the grounds we are camping at has snakes, scorpions, unleveled ground, rocks, and high grass.
I was thinking about how symbolic this was in my life right now. I have no idea what is ahead of me, I don’t know exactly where I am headed but I know that God is leading me and I just need to follow him with complete blind faith. Yes, we might have taken the first couple of steps to getting here but now it is time to evaluate what is holding us back on this journey we are on.
There were a couple of steep steps and rock barrier we had to step over, but the thing about doing this walk in silence is that we could only listen for one voice to direct us and lead us over the dangerous steps. Mike was at both places when there was some difficult rocks and terrain to hike through, telling each one of us when to take a step. To be honest, each time I heard Mike’s voice, I got a little tense because I knew something tough was coming. I didn’t know how high we would have to step or jump or how tricky it would be, I just kept picturing myself rolling my ankle or falling. However both times it was nothing to be scared of. It was actually quite easy if I just listened.
See the thing I am continously learning is that the only voice that matters is God’s. Yes there are times we need to seek others and need others’ wisdom, but God is the one that can see clearly at where he is leading us. While the voices of those in front of me would have been helpful at directing where my steps should be, the one that can see the clearest is the one who isn’t blindfolded at all.
I began thinking how I do this with my walk with God. I started thinking back on some difficult things God has had me walk through in the past. Yes, those things were hard, but I reacted by being overcome by fear and being tense. In those times I imagined the worst with my life and thought to myself, there is no way I can walk through this. But looking back each time, as long as I continued to listen to God’s voice, he just walked me though it and I was fine. Things seemed scary at first but listening to God’s voice made each and every step easier.
When we got to the end of the walk Mike lined us up and asked us all to take off the blindfolds. I had no idea where we were but it was beautiful. I opened my eyes and we found ourselves on a hill overlooking the city lights surrounded by candlelight. We stayed there and sat around on the tables and chairs and took communion together. What a wonderful night it was.
I am learning to continue to trust God’s voice. God has walked me through some pretty tough stuff in life but he’s never just left me alone, in the dark, walking aimlessly. He’s always gotten me through it, especially when I was scared. Turning to Him through those scary times helped me hear his voice even more.
I’m going to keep listening for His voice. Seeking out what He says about me and my life and where He is leading me.
