It was a Saturday adventure day and our goal for the day was to hike up a mountain overlooking the villages and the ocean in Haiti. I only really had two goals in mind:
1) make it to the top and back down.
2) do so without twisting an ankle.
Step after step I scanned for the perfect contestant for my next foot placement hoping that this would ensure ankle security.
left foot.
right foot.
skid.
squeal.
repeat.
>>Side note: Sooner or later this may be a blog of its own but, last month I asked the Lord to give me one tangible item that He would use to symbolize His presence to me throughout this year and while I was in the Dominican Republic He gave me the butterfly.<<
As I am seriously concentrating on the road below me a butterfly swoops down in front of my face and then right over my head. So I decided to stop and ask God what He was wanting to tell me about this risky butterfly.
In this moment the Lord convicted me of a similar issue in my SPIRITUAL walk. There are times in my life where I am so consumed in avoiding the stumbling blocks and avoiding the messy parts of my life that I miss out on the journey or what He is wanting to show me through it.
So I picked my head up and began to walk with my eyes scanning the ocean and mountains instead of the road and decided to focus on allowing God to direct my feet onto whatever road He seemed fitting and enjoy the beauty in His creation along the way.
Right foot.
Left foot.
NO skid.
(Still a little hesitant)
Repeat.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary trials are achieving us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” – 1 Corinthians 4:16-18
Sure enough, my steps became sturdier. I am NOT here to say that if you decide to trust God that your struggles vanish (sometimes I wish that was the case), but I AM saying that when you choose to trust God with your steps instead of relying on your own exhausting strength your journey begins to align with His will and your focus shifts from self centered to faith centered. It no longer becomes a matter of security but a matter of becoming a journey learning to be content with an outcome no longer in your control. It’s not about “ankle security”, or security in the small things, it’s about an eternal security. This is a constant battle in my life. I want to make my own steps. I want to know the result of my actions. But the problem with this attitude is that it requires absolutely no trust, no reliance, and no surrender of control to the one who already wrote my life story before I was even born. He knows what we need before we even speak.
Our relationship with the Lord is not a destination, it’s about trusting Him well enough to know that there’s beauty in the stumbling, but also that He has designed a path for you where you get to enjoy the bigger picture without constantly trying to dodge the struggle. TRUST GOD WITH THE STRUGGLE. Today I challenge you to join me in picking our eyes up. What is God trying to show you while you’re busy looking down on the path you’re trying to create by yourself? What are you missing out on that God is begging you to enjoy?
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
??Proverbs? ?16:9?
