I found myself in the mountains as I often do when life becomes chaotic and the forces of stress are bearing down on me with such intensity that it feels like a literal weight on me. I am fortunate to live about an hour from the mountains. On the day in question, I was at Mt. Mitchell—famous for being the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River. Mt. Mitchell almost lets you drive to the summit. A parking lot is followed by about a ten-minute hike up a steep slope to one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. About two-thirds of the way to the top, there is an offshoot that leads into the woods and meanders down the side of the mountain and loops back to the parking lot. This trail was where I found myself on a peaceful morning.
While listening to an audiobook on my headphones, I began descending a set of stones. If you know anything about the mountains, you would know of how wet they generally are. It just so happened that my foot landed right on a slick section of the rock. I went down like a ton of bricks, folding my leg backward so that it touched my butt. I am a rotund individual and am extremely inflexible in the limberness department at the best of times. As I lay on the ground screaming, I thought I had finally broken my first bone. However, as the pain began to subside and feeling returned to my leg, I realize I had merely pulled the muscles and sprained my ankle.
A mere sprain wouldn’t ordinarily be much of an issue. However, I was completely alone, without anyone on the trail even, and I still had about one-third of the trail to go. I also had no signal on my phone. I found that I could not put much weight on my injured leg, so I had to revert to how I was when I was a baby and crawl. It was in my compromised state that I realized how much I relied on the ability to walk and how my faith had been placed in my own ability to perpetually be able to do so. Now that my ability to ambulate had been hampered, I had to put my faith elsewhere.
I wish that I could say I immediately began praying and put my faith in God to get through the rest of the trail. Unfortunately, I was in a foggy place in my walk as I struggled with the distressing and depressing process of getting a job. So, onward I crawled, eventually getting enough strength back in my leg to transition to a hobble.
This is the first blog I have written after having published my book Home Is Heavenward: The Journey of a Young Adult Ministry. It is disheartening that in a time where a virus and political turmoil are ripping the United States apart that I have not found it within my power to write even a single blog. The reason for this is that I have been struggling in my walk with God. Without regular church attendance, Nomad, Bible studies, and other church events, my connection with God has slowly grown distant. This is purely my fault. It is my responsibility to keep up with quiet times, message friends when I am struggling, and make the most out of what events—online or otherwise—that pop up.
This made me think to my turmoil in the mountains. Our walk with God is not something that is meant to be treated like a 100-meter dash. Fervor and zealotry can fade very quickly and if we do not build the foundations for a proper relationship with God that can last strong storms then we are no better than the foolish man who built his house on the sand only to have it washed away at the first sign of trouble.
In Christianity, we often hear our walk with God described as going through peaks and valleys and “different seasons”. The downhill trek to the valleys and Spring and Autumn are easy. It is the uphill climb and the endurance to outlast the Summer heat and Winter cold that is what puts us to the test. In order to endure, we need perseverance.
The Bible is lush with verses about perseverance:
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
James 1:12
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5
I have been going through mental turmoil. Often times, I have no hope for my future prospects. I do not always look to God to guide me through problems. I need to draw closer to Him and build an inseparable reliance. We build this reliance through faith. Hebrews defines faith as follows: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).
Just as we put our faith in our legs that they will hold out for the next step and not perform an extreme yoga maneuver, we need to put that same faith in God. Our legs will give out, but God will never give up on us. He is faithful until the end. When the bad times come and you fall, start crawling. Even though you are on the ground and getting filthy, at least you are still moving forward. You will be able to get back up and shine in the light of God once again. Just as I felt sweet relief when I rounded a bend and saw the parking lot on my hike, you too can revel in the glory of salvation by persevering and holding fast to the one true eternal God.
Special thanks to openbible.info for research into perseverance in the Bible.
Nomad 