A few years ago, my 5-year-old son and I were on a backpacking trip that I had promised him. We began our trip at a beautiful mountain lake in Northern California and were planning to hike up to another lake named Heart Lake, which received its name from its shape. About half of a mile up the single track trail, he slipped and scraped his knee. We took a break, a couple of deep breaths and continued on our way. Not long after, he slipped again and scraped his knee again. With tears in his eyes, he said: “I just want to go home.”
I replied, “I know you do, and we can do that if you want. We can drive back home tonight, and we will tell the girls that you tried and did a really good job, but we weren’t able to make it to the top and decided to come home early. Or we can keep going; we can push through the pain and tomorrow when we get back you can tell the girls about how you didn’t give up, even though you wanted to. It’s your choice; which would you rather do?”
He looked at me with all the courage he could muster and said, “Let’s make it there.”
Thankfully we didn’t have any more falls, scrapes or bruises. But, we did have some incredible memories from that trip; we even got to see a mountain lion taking a drink from across the lake. Needless to say I didn’t sleep much that night, but it was a beautiful sight.
You see, a good father knows when it is essential for you to stand up and keep moving. He takes pride in leading you on a path that is helping you overcome fears and doubts, so that you will ultimately be able to stand in true freedom from those things that would attempt to hold you back.
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As I ponder the many adventures I’ve been able to facilitate for my children, I can’t help but wonder what life would be like for them if I had only ever read stories to them about adventures. At some point in all of our lives we must make the transition from reading the Scriptures, and from singing worship, to living out the truth that we have received in our minds and to allowing a song to pour out of our actions in worship to God. It is a wonderful practice to listen to worship music, post Scripture throughout your house, and engage in other practices that keep your mind focused on God. However, these alone will not bring freedom. I like to think of these practices as the behind-the-scenes preparation to stepping out onto the stage of life. It is truly in your steps up the mountain that you will encounter not just the knowledge of what freedom looks like, but the experience of how it feels. I share this concept in great detail through the story of one of my books, “Before the Clock Ticks”.
As a father, I long to give my children the things that will lead them closer to being truly satisfied on this earth. I’ve come to understand that sometimes that means leading them on an uncomfortable path so that they can learn a necessary life skill or an ability to trust me no matter their fears or feelings. I can only imagine that God feels the same way with me and that he longs for me to trust his leading even on the difficult paths.
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There is a journey for each one of us. The question is not: Is there a guide? Or, does he really have it all mapped out? Or any other questions that your personal fears could muster up. All of these questions are answered clearly in Scripture.
The only question is: Will you follow?
I pray that today your answer will be the same as my knee-scraped son… “Let’s make it there.”
I’d invite you to take a moment right now and ask Jesus to make clear any areas in your life where he is trying to grow your faith and your trust in him. And then in a simple act of submission, open up your hands and tell him out loud, that you want him to lead and to show you where to go, and what to do. And may the God of all creation bless you and your journey!