Four Simple Lessons about Relying on God
It seems everybody is ready for fall! I admit I’m ready to put away any hint of summer décor in my house and scatter pumpkins willy-nilly. I work retail, and scads of people have been purchasing literal cart loads of Halloween and fall decorations.
A Perfect Life
I get it. There is something inside us that seems to say, if we create the ideal back drop, then we will experience an idyllic autumn. The more leaves and acorns we scatter, the more enchanting the season will feel. Every pumpkin spice whatever we enjoy will intensify our delight.
Create a picture-perfect environment, fit for the cover of a magazine, and surely our families will smile more. Our children will get along with each other and we will naturally create wonderful, memorable moments. We will look fashionably put together in our oversized flannel and leggings, while our messy buns will look enviably cute.
I don’t mean to burse your bubble, or mine for that matter, but it’s all a lie.
God’s Idyllic Life
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still buy too many pumpkins for my front porch. And there’s an unopened box of Bath and Body Works candles in my office, all pumpkin-y type scents. I’ll happily overdo the fall décor, but it won’t create the perfect season, or a perfect life.
God never promises what we envision as “the perfect life.” God promises us many things, but that’s not on the list. John 3:16 tells us about God’s great love, and His promise of eternal life. Romans 8:37 promises us that we are more than conquerors, and Hebrews 4:16 promises us mercy and grace to help us when we need it.
Somehow, we read those verses and we conjure up a picture that looks comfortable, easy, and successful. In a recent Bible study I completed called It is Well (from The Daily Grace Company), the author, Sarah Morrison, said, “Our God is a personal God; the Almighty wants to commune with us perfectly…His plan in Scripture, from beginning to end, is making a way for us to commune with Him intimately.”
God’s idyllic life for us is all about our relationship with Him.
Crater Lake Adventure
While my sweet Pastor husband was on sabbatical, we went camping at Crater Lake. We had a wonderful time enjoying God’s beautiful creation. When we camp, we hike. Every day. It’s what we do.
Our first full day at Crater Lake, we decided to conquer a hike that went along the rim of the lake. According to the map, it was about three miles one way, and then of course three miles back. Totally doable. We laced up our hiking boots, put on our packs, grabbed our poles, and set out.
We enjoyed many different views of the lake as we tromped through the woods. I snapped pictures with my phone, and we chatted about a variety of topics. Then, I began to move slower as my thighs began to ache. I knew we were hiking three miles out and back, what neither of us knew was that the trail climbed up and down more than we anticipated.
My New Best Friend
The farther we went, the slower I moved, and the more I used my hiking pole. I leaned on it as we climbed, and I used it to steady my steps as we maneuvered over rocks. My legs were on fire and becoming shaky from the exertion. My hiking pole was my new best friend.
I’m sure I amuse God to no end. As we hiked, and I lovingly leaned on my pole more, He brought a phrase from Psalm 23 to my mind. “Thy rod and staff, they comfort me.” In my exhausted stupor, I now saw my hiking pole as God’s rod, or staff, either would do.
I pondered that connection between the verse from Psalm 23 and my hiking experience for several days. God revealed four lessons to me through my new appreciation for my hiking pole.
Lessons from My Hiking Pole
Lesson 1: God is always available.
When my sweet Pastor husband and I hike, we always take our hiking poles. We don’t always need them, but we figure better to be over-prepared. I didn’t tuck my pole away in my pack, I used it right from the start. Though I admit, I wasn’t leaning on it as if my life depended on it when we began.
We are to always take God with us, wherever we go, although we shouldn’t tuck Him away out of sight. I’m sure there are many circumstances we believe we can manage on our own, and yet, we should always make sure God is our companion. When we purposefully are mindful that God is with us, then we are always aware of His availability. And when red flags of pain, exhaustion, or feeling overwhelmed wave a warning to us, we can immediately lean on our Savior.
Lesson 2: God’s truth stabilizes.
Just like my hiking pole kept me upright when my legs threatened mutiny, God’s truth enables and empowers us to stand amidst difficult circumstances. We lean on the truth of who He is: He is Creator; the Sovereign Lord; Sustainer; the source of all wisdom; the One and Only King; He is Truth; the Lover of our souls. We can rely on what is true about us: God loves us dearly; He calls us chosen; the blood of Jesus makes us holy; He calls us His children and heirs. We can confidently believe what He says about the life He offers: it’s eternal, abundant, a fresh bubbling spring within us, holy, filled with grace upon grace.
Leaning on the truth of who God is reminds us that He created all things, and He remains in charge of all things. There is nothing that we encounter in life that catches Him off guard, not even for a split second. Leaning on the assurance that He treasures us, leads us to trust Him to provide what we need to survive our current circumstance. Believing God gives us the best life possible, helps us reframe our thinking so we can see how He is blessing us with gifts that reflect His grace toward us.
Lesson 3: God enables us to do hard things.
In the middle of the hike, I wondered if I could manage what we had set out to do. My legs were becoming more like Jell-o than I cared to admit. I stubbornly kept moving forward, relying increasingly on my hiking pole to keep me upright and safe.
In our hard circumstances, God rarely comes in and makes everything peachy keen. He doesn’t wave a magic wand and our difficulties disappear. We live through the situations and the seasons that are hard. We get up every morning and do what must be done. And God provides what we need to keep moving forward.
I love how Hebrews 4:16 reads in the Amplified version.
“Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
Hebrews 4:16 Amplified
Lesson 4: God continually gives good gifts.
The hike was more challenging than my sweet Pastor husband or I anticipated. And it was worth it. We saw stunning vistas that you couldn’t see unless you were on that trail. We were privileged to see the lake from a wide variety of angles. We experienced the quiet of being amongst the trees, and the beauty of it all energized my spirit.
When we get on the other side of difficult circumstances, we often realize we learned new lessons, and gained fresh insight that we could not have gained any other way. We experience blessings and find good gifts when we stretch ourselves, when we endure, and when we rely completely on God to be our sustainer.
Psalm 23
In Psalm 23, the psalmist is describing the Lord as a shepherd. He draws several parallels between a good shepherd and God Himself. God provides what we need, just as a shepherd provides for his flock. God doesn’t leave us to wander out in the world all by ourselves, just as a shepherd leads his flock to where his sheep can receive what they need most.
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4 NLT
We often perceive the darkest valley to only mean someone has died or is dying, but we experience dark valleys in many ways. The death of a dream, plans that fall apart, the ending of a job, the loss of an ability, the removal of an opportunity. Whenever we experience anything that disrupts our perception of our ideal life, we face a death of something.
John 10:14 tells us Jesus is our Good Shepherd; He is the perfect shepherd. He doesn’t need a rod or a staff, He Himself is our protection and our comfort. We do not travel through the dark days alone. We don’t need to wander through valleys, conquer mountains, or even hike lake rim trails without His presence empowering and enabling us.
