A Two Day Hike With God

My hike turned out to be a metaphor of my relationship to God.  The trail represented the path the Lord has created for my life and what I am supposed to do.  For the first day we spent most of the time admiring the glorious beauty of God's creation, and I had a lot of praise and worship hymns going through my head. 

Previous to starting up again on the second day I sat and read my Bible for a little while in my tent.  I just flipped it open, and as is my usual experience, God had a message for me that had to do with guidance for that day.  The advice came from one of the apostle’s encouragement letters.  It reminded me of the values of perseverance in the face of suffering and to have faith that God is always there to help.  As the exhaustion set in that day, prayers turned to requests for strength and comfort.  

The map I carried for the hike was like the Bible.  It helped me to stay on the right path.  People that I would meet along the path that would give me advice were like my brothers and sisters in Christ, ready to lend a hand when I need them. 

Of course Satan's presence was there in the form of inviting side trails to take me down the wrong path, and insects distracting me from my purpose.  And since I am not always perfect, I found myself going down the wrong path at one point in the hike.  This wrong turn lead to a number of problems.  I wasted precious energy hiking up a steep incline that lead to nowhere.  When the trail ended I felt panic and despair. 

I began praying over and over, "Please, God, help me to find the right path."  My prayer was answered when I heard the voice of four women  as they continued on the correct path.  I ran down to find them taking a breather at the place where I had taken the wrong turn.  They showed me the proper path.  I began to follow them, but within a few moments they had vanished ahead of me.  They represent Christ Jesus.  Although Christ was with us only a short time,  it was enough to help those who were willing to follow him to find the right path. 

When I was three miles from the endpoint I was afraid my wife had given up waiting on me as I was supposed to have finished two hours previous.  But across my walkie-talkie (which is only supposed to have a range of two miles) came her voice, “Come in Adventureman, this is Claimjumper, OVER!”  I was more relieved and overjoyed to hear her voice than I can describe.  I felt like I had nothing left, but my Claimjumper's voice represented the Holy Spirit and filled me with determination that I could fulfill the hike, the purpose for which God created me.  The Spirit came whenever I asked and was always there to help me.  Especially at the end, when multiple trails lead around the Nature Center where she was waiting for me, Claimjumper guided me along the correct path to bring me home. 

I basically collapsed into the car, as I was dead tired.  She offered me apples and root beer.  She drove me home, drew me a bath, cleaned me up and soaked the pain out of me feet.  I was filled with an overwhelming sense that this is what heaven must be like, where there is somebody really wonderful to care for you and love you with a pure and unselfish heart.

Last Visited: June 2002

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