The Hike

Today was such a beautiful fall day (even though in the morning when I woke up it was 28 degrees) that I decided it would be a good idea to go on a prayer walk. My prayer walk was just a time that I was able to spend with God praying and praising Him for the things that He has done in my life lately. I have so much to be thankful for. I went to this little mountain called Mt. Severance. It is only about a mile to the top, but it it really steep. As I was hiking up the trail, I saw so many similarities between my actual hike, and the “hike” we are doing in our Christian walk. There are times along the path where it was easy. The path was straight, there weren’t any roots or rocks sticking up anywhere, it was just a nice walk. Then there were other times, that the path was so steep and had rocks that I had to climb over. Another thing was that anytime I would turn my head to look off to the side or to look behind me, even if it was just for a quick second to look at the trees, I stumbled and sometimes even fell (that could just be because I am clumsy though J). In our walk with the Lord, there are times when things are easy. God has clearly shown us where He wants us to be, what He wants us to do, and who He wants us to do it with. There aren’t any problems hindering our smooth walk. Then we come to a part in our walk where things aren’t so easy. Things become more difficult. There are “rocks” or situations that we have to overcome in order to get to the top. Going back to what I said about turning my head and falling…in our walk with the Lord, how easy is it to just turn our head to glance at what is going on around us. As soon as we do, we stumble..we fall. We loose focus on the prize that we are striving for which is Jesus. Philippines 3:14 says just what we are to do. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” That is our goal. That is what we should be striving for! If you have ever run a race you can recall how at the finish line, parents, friends, teammates, and coaches were there cheering for you. Just imagine coming to the finish line and seeing Jesus Christ waiting there to meet you! Hebrews 12:1-2 says “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Verse two really gets me going because… think of all that He has done for us? He endured the cross! We need to be running this race with endurance, with perseverance and get rid of whatever it is that is weighing us down and holding us back.

Something else I noticed on my walk was when I tried to look too far ahead, I lost track of where I was. I would stumble over my feet. God is showing us where to go one step at a time. In Psalms it talks about how the Word is a lamp. A lamp gives off just enough light to show us about one step in front of us. If we try and look too far, all we see is darkness. God hasn’t made clear what He wants us to do. As long as we are continuing to follow the Lord, that light keeps on going with us and keeps showing us what is next on our journey.

Once I finally made it to the top of the mountain, it was just a breathtaking view. I think I was literally speechless just looking at all that God had made. I forgot to take my camera which means I need to go back soon so I can get some pictures of all the leaves before they all fall down. As I began my trip down the mountain, I just kept on praising God for all that He has done in my life and everything I have to be thankful for. I made it all the way down to my car and went to unlock it and came to the great realization that I left my keys at the top of the mountain. I guess I wasn’t finished praying yet J. I turned around and began to walk the long steep walk up the mountain. God showed me through that that even though we may be doing well in our race towards Him, we can still have setbacks that will slow us down.

Even though I wasn’t excited about having to hike another 2 miles at the time, God taught me a lot and I was able to spend more time with Him. I thoroughly enjoyed my prayer walk and I encourage each of you to go out and have a prayer walk or just spend a little bit of extra time with God and thank Him for what He has given to you.