Sis, Lil Sweet Pea and I took a day trip down to the southwest corner of our vast and picturesque province. There are treasures around every turn and over every hill... it is like a treasure hunt from north to south and east to west. I often pity the travellers who only stick to the #1 Highway because they are missing out on so much.
As we explored Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, we were constantly reminded of the beauty in nature and how good it felt to slow down and breathe it all in. In just a few kilometers of walking, we saw a deer with her fawn, several frogs, friendly campers, bikers, stinging nettle, and even a daring soul zipping down a zip line.
In amongst our exploring, we were happy to meet up with a couple of long-time friends; ones we’d made in our late teens. A lot has gone under the bridge in all our lives and as we chatted and shared our warm memories, we also shared our hardships and unexpected challenges we’d all encountered in these past years. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, and we prayed. I left with a renewed sense of courage and encouragement. As I’ve pondered our conversations, one of them really stands out: “If we base our view of God on our experiences, we will miss the mark and get off on a whole bunch of tangents.” Profound.
In a day of grey (not black and white), fluid boundaries and a society of “everything goes,” I’m reminded of how important it is to keep a firm foundation. If we don’t build our lives on a firm foundation, we will find ourselves on shifting sands with no plumb line to fall back on. We will find ourselves questioning and groping for truth. However, especially in this culture we are living, we have all the more reason to build a firm foundation of belief in God and using His Word as our final authority.
The Word of God is the manual for life. We can trust God, even when the mess looks unfixable. How can we trust God in our troubles? Because He is faithful! We can find every answer for every problem in the Word of God if we will invest the time to ingest it, meditate on it and hide it in our hearts. The Word of God will come forth with supernatural revelation in every area of life by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Many shy away from inviting Him to be a part of their lives, but they are missing a very significant key for victorious living, moving and being.
If we put God in a box of our experiences, He will not be free to move in our lives. The danger is to base our relationship with Him on our expectations or experiences. Just because He didn’t come through for us in the way we expected or think we should experience, it doesn’t mean He isn’t working in our lives or behind the scenes.
His ways are so vast... I was reminded of that as I stood on Loch Leven Lookout, scanning the horizon some 100 kilometers away on the clear day. His ways are beyond our comprehension. And, even yet He stills wants to personally give us His heavenly revelation for how to live and how to do life in a supernatural, amazing way.
Rest assured that “He who began a good work in you will complete it!” (Phil 1:6) It just may not be packaged the way you thought it would!
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
