Trust Your Structure

This morning, with some old friends and new by my side, we decided to hike a mile up a mountain to a fire tower that overlooked the mountains. We watched the sunrise from a vantage point much greater than the average life. Imagine hiking up a path as steep as stairs with rocks, sticks, bumps, mud and dirt in the dark for a mile. For that mile, our breath was heavy, our heartbeats quick, our conversation quiet and our sweat overtaking. But to say the view was astounding when we got up the fire tower would be an injustice to the beauty of the Lord.

As we sat on the landing of the fire tower, I found myself gripping the railing. White knuckles, tensed arms and all. Stories high and mountains below, I gripped the rail as if it would protect me from the fear I was experiencing. While the beauty was there, the fear was encompassing. Structural heights are a fear that I can't quite grasp. I love to fly. There is nothing about the flight that scares me. But you put me a couple stories high when I can see the ground through the grates of the surface I'm standing on and my heart starts racing.

Yet, it is unjustified. I had no trust in my structure. My trust was in my grip on the railing. The same situation is applicable to my walk with the Lord. I don't always trust the structure of the Lord's promises. I frequently rely on my own path, trusting that it will bring me the peace and joy that I am searching for.

But I am horribly wrong. When I let go of that rail, I was able to put my complete trust in the structure. Instead, my focus shifted to the sunrise. And it was infectious. The faint pink glow the sun illuminated turned into a pale orange that spread 360 around the tower.

The day grew brighter and brighter, spreading light on every mountain and valley in eyesight.

It was the Lord.

In your walk with the Lord, if you are willing to let go of the grip you have on your own life and trust in the structure of the Lord, you will experience a beauty far beyond words. The mountains and valleys will still be there. They won't just magically disappear because of your trust in the Lord. Rather, the Lord will shine a light on them much brighter than the sun that will help guide you through the valleys and above the mountains. The Lord is just wonderful like that. He loves us like that. He didn't promise us an easy life, but He did promise to be a light through it all.

How wonderful is the Lord?!

Trust in the structure of the Lord. He will never fail you.

As we descended the fire tower, taking in every moment of beauty possible, an old friend stated, "I think we've just been granted another day." That, my friend, is beyond true.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6