Emily can attest to the fact that I’m not a hiker. Let’s be honest…anything that’s related to being healthy, working out, enjoying oodles of outdoor time…not a fan. I’m content to sit in my living room for the entire weekend secretly eating cake. It’s just who I am.
On the RARE occasion, I decide to frolic along behind Emily in the woods, I like to know where I’m going, what the path will be like, and how high the elevation is. If I have to exert myself, it’s likely to make me grumpy. And if I’m getting hit by sticks in the face, tripping over roots and rocks, or guessing whether we go left or right, the Ranger Service is about to be called.
This makes me think about my faith journey. Really, it makes me think about everyone’s faith journey. When we accept Christ as our Savior and make the choice to live for Him, we do that by faith. The biblical definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We believe God is real. We trust that He created us. We know that He sent His Son to die for our sins and raise from the grave. We accept His gift of salvation. We are confident that we will live one day with Him in heaven. While we don’t see Him, our faith dictates that He is the one true living God.
Sometimes, I hear people talking about their faith in God in a way that makes my heart hurt. I’ve heard statements about being lost in not knowing where God is taking them. There are discussions about not really knowing what God has had for their lives or where He intends to take them. But I have to encourage you, my friends, that our faith is not about aimless wandering, hoping that God will reveal His will.
Our Pastor Trey said something a few weeks ago that really stuck with me. “Faith is not about bumbling around. It’s a well-marked path.” It doesn’t have to be wandering, trying this path or that route to see what ‘sticks.’ We don’t need to trip over our own plans or our sins to take a guess at the direction God wants us to go! When we choose faith, we choose to go down the marked path. That path is marked ‘Obedience.’ It’s marked, ‘Trust.’ It’s marked, ‘His will.’ Because when we follow God and His ways, the path should and will go in the proper direction it’s supposed to go! To Him!
When we stop wandering around trying to have faith in what we THINK is His will, we move onto the marked and worn path that has only one objective–to follow our faith and God no matter where it leads us.
I pray, Iron Porch, that we lean into the that well-marked path of faith and trust in a Savior who is ours.
~Erin
Iron Porch 