"The Path is Revealed in the Treading"

As human beings we have been gifted with a phenomenal thing: our minds. We have the ability to reason, to think logically, to ponder things, to decipher, to learn, to create…Things that the
rest of creation can only do to a certain extent, if they can do it at all. But
this logic and reasoning of ours, though often our greatest strength, can also
be our greatest weakness and frustration in life.

            When God calls us to something, He is faithful to get us there. But He does not operate on our timing or in ways that we can understand. Our logical, human
minds often hear God’s calling to a certain place and say “the shortest
distance between two points is a straight line: point A to Point B. Let’s go.”
And we charge off in a straight line towards the thing that God called to us. But
what if arriving at the place where He called us wasn’t the point? What if the
point was everything between Point A and Point B?

When I was little I received a small, pewter, ring box for Christmas one year. AT the time, I appreciated it only for the fact that it was a box (I have always had a great fascination in
boxes) and that it had a ‘horse,’ technically a zebra, on top. I entirely
disregarded what was written on the side. But as I got older I came to
understand and appreciate what it said. It simply displayed the saying: “the
journey, not the arrival, matters.” The truth of which I am still learning
today.

            We often try and expedite God’s plan because we think we know a better way, we think we know a short cut, we don’t pay attention to detail, we don’t understand the
reasoning behind what He has us do, or it isn’t humanly logical. We had a day
on our tour that our entire route took us, not east, but directly south. Logically,
it made no sense. Our goal was to reach New York City,
a relatively straight shot east from Seattle, Washington.
However, the point of that day’s ride was not to reach New
York City. The point of that day’s ride was to
maintain connections with a church that had hosted our team in previous years. The
point was not the miles traveled or the distance, the point was the people.

As human beings we have been gifted with a phenomenal thing: our minds. We have the ability to reason, to think logically, to ponder things, to decipher, to learn, to create…Things that the
rest of creation can only do to a certain extent, if they can do it at all. But
this logic and reasoning of ours, though often our greatest strength, can also
be our greatest weakness and frustration in life.

            When God calls us to something, He is faithful to get us there. But He does not operate on our timing or in ways that we can understand. Our logical, human
minds often hear God’s calling to a certain place and say “the shortest
distance between two points is a straight line: point A to Point B. Let’s go.”
And we charge off in a straight line towards the thing that God called to us. But
what if arriving at the place where He called us wasn’t the point? What if the
point was everything between Point A and Point B?

When I was little I received a small, pewter, ring box for Christmas one year. AT the time, I appreciated it only for the fact that it was a box (I have always had a great fascination in
boxes) and that it had a ‘horse,’ technically a zebra, on top. I entirely
disregarded what was written on the side. But as I got older I came to
understand and appreciate what it said. It simply displayed the saying: “the
journey, not the arrival, matters.” The truth of which I am still learning
today.

            We often try and expedite God’s plan because we think we know a better way, we think we know a short cut, we don’t pay attention to detail, we don’t understand the
reasoning behind what He has us do, or it isn’t humanly logical. We had a day
on our tour that our entire route took us, not east, but directly south. Logically,
it made no sense. Our goal was to reach New York City,
a relatively straight shot east from Seattle, Washington.
However, the point of that day’s ride was not to reach New
York City. The point of that day’s ride was to
maintain connections with a church that had hosted our team in previous years. The
point was not the miles traveled or the distance, the point was the people.

            Things that may seem to be inconveniences are often God’s special gifts along the way. While crossing Montana we were
supposed to stay in the town of Hysham
on a Monday night. We were called by our host church on Friday and were
informed that the church was flooded (there was a lot of flooding in Montana
this year) and would be unable to host us. We looked ahead to the next town,
Forsyth, searched online to find the number of a church in that town, and
called the pastor with a “you have no idea who we are but we need a place to
sleep Monday night” phone message. The result was one of the greatest towns we
stayed in and more blessings than we could ever have imagined. All because of
an inconvenience.

            As humans we have such a limited perspective on life. We can see only what is directly around us, and even then we cannot usually see it very clearly. We do not
understand why God asks certain things of us because we are unable to see the
bigger picture. It comes down to being willing to trust that He knows the
bigger picture and knows how each little step we take fits into His greater
plan.

            While training for Cross Country at school this year we have many different kinds of workouts that Coach Trey, Coach Bree, and Coach Tony have us do. We run hills,
we do weight lifting and core strengthening, we run intervals around Elliot
Park…For a person like myself who does not have any training in athletics,
kinesiology, or fitness, these routines may seem pointless and nothing but
hard. But each one of them serves a purpose. Each one is carefully selected,
from the distance run to the speed to the weight being lifted to the number of
repetitions, and is preparing us for specific things we will face during a
race. I have a choice to make. I can respond from my own understanding and
refuse to participate because I don’t see the point or see an immediate benefit
to what I am doing. I can choose to ask for detailed explanations about what we
are doing and why. Or I can choose to trust that our coaches know what they are
talking about and have very specific and thought out reasons for each thing
they ask of the team. There are times when it is appropriate and necessary to
ask questions and seek explanations. But there are also times when it is
necessary to simply walk forward in faith and obedience, trusting that the one leading
you will remain faithful and will not ask of you something without a reason. Sometimes
we know the path we are to take to reach our destination. But, as author
Stephen Lawhead said, sometimes “the path is revealed in the treading” and we
must walk forward in blind faith.

            Things that may seem to be inconveniences are often God’s special gifts along the way. While crossing Montana we were
supposed to stay in the town of Hysham
on a Monday night. We were called by our host church on Friday and were
informed that the church was flooded (there was a lot of flooding in Montana
this year) and would be unable to host us. We looked ahead to the next town,
Forsyth, searched online to find the number of a church in that town, and
called the pastor with a “you have no idea who we are but we need a place to
sleep Monday night” phone message. The result was one of the greatest towns we
stayed in and more blessings than we could ever have imagined. All because of
an inconvenience.

            As humans we have such a limited perspective on life. We can see only what is directly around us, and even then we cannot usually see it very clearly. We do not
understand why God asks certain things of us because we are unable to see the
bigger picture. It comes down to being willing to trust that He knows the
bigger picture and knows how each little step we take fits into His greater
plan.

            While training for Cross Country at school this year we have many different kinds of workouts that Coach Trey, Coach Bree, and Coach Tony have us do. We run hills,
we do weight lifting and core strengthening, we run intervals around Elliot
Park…For a person like myself who does not have any training in athletics,
kinesiology, or fitness, these routines may seem pointless and nothing but
hard. But each one of them serves a purpose. Each one is carefully selected,
from the distance run to the speed to the weight being lifted to the number of
repetitions, and is preparing us for specific things we will face during a
race. I have a choice to make. I can respond from my own understanding and
refuse to participate because I don’t see the point or see an immediate benefit
to what I am doing. I can choose to ask for detailed explanations about what we
are doing and why. Or I can choose to trust that our coaches know what they are
talking about and have very specific and thought out reasons for each thing
they ask of the team. There are times when it is appropriate and necessary to
ask questions and seek explanations. But there are also times when it is
necessary to simply walk forward in faith and obedience, trusting that the one leading
you will remain faithful and will not ask of you something without a reason. Sometimes
we know the path we are to take to reach our destination. But, as author
Stephen Lawhead said, sometimes “the path is revealed in the treading” and we
must walk forward in blind faith.