Today I went for an 8 mile hike up and down 5 different mountain tops. A group of 10 of us started our day by hopping in a tuk tuk and taking a bumpy ride to the bottom of the first mountain. We had two locals, Ezekiel and Nehemiah, as our guides. These two men taught me a lot about Christ’s character in the six hours I was with them.
We started our journey on a nice dirt road headed up the mountain. In my mind this was going to be a nice 45 min hike up the dirt road for a pretty decent view. However I could only see right in front of me and not the big picture. About 20 min into the hike up the dirt road Ezekiel stops and asks if anyone wanted to pray because it was about to get more difficult. James prayed for us and then we continued on. He wasn’t lying, it began to get harder and harder. But as it got harder Ezekiel continued to say “it’s okay your following the path of Christ”. So we pushed on.
After about the fifth or sixth time hearing him say “your following the path of Christ” I began to actually think about it. And God sure did reveal a lot. If I’m following the path of Christ what does that look like from my view and what does that look like from Christs’ view? For me it looked like only thinking about the next step. I had to focus on where each foot was being placed and making sure it was safe. At some points I tripped, fell, or slid on my butt. At other points I walked without a problem. Their were flat easy parts and there were steep difficult parts. And every now and then we would stop and look at the beautiful view and our destination. I had to remind myself why I chose to follow this path because in the moment it was difficult but once I made it to the top it was more than worth it.
Ezekiel lead the way for this journey and in that I saw a lot of Jesus in him. Their were times he had to choose right or left. There were times where I couldn’t see the path but he could and he lead us on it. Their were times where for all I know he was making the path up. However, there was never a moment I questioned him because he had hiked these mountains before and he was confident in his choices.
In the same way Ezekiel guided us I see Christ guiding me. He takes me down the path that may look harder but in the end it has the best view. There’s times I don’t see where I’m being led to but God does. Sometimes he makes a whole new path because the last one wasn’t good enough. The other paths are hard. I trip, fall, and slip but every time I am picked back up. Every time he gives me more strength and encouragement to keep going. And when I need it he will hold my hand to keep me safe.
Today’s hike was hard but well worth the views.
1 Peter 1-17
James 4:15
