Week 5 on World Race was a really beautiful one. I was brought to tears by the Father’s love. I got to have the sweetest, biggest, and sweatiest hug of my life in getting the surprise chance to see a sweet friend (and yes one of those words was sweatiest haha… we genuinely sweat 24 hours a day here). I got to experience the Lord speak to me intimately through images. I had the chance to help teach on something I am so passionate about… the beauty of house church. I accidentally tried coffee for the first time.
But, the moment I want to focus on comes from this past Monday. It was one of our off days. We are kind of out of options on adventures that are close to where we are. So, I asked one of the only friends that I know is crazy enough to say yes if she would want to just walk aimlessly towards the mountains. We had one rule… no backtracking was allowed.
We walked maybe 2 miles or so just hitting dead end after dead end on the roads. Finally, we came across a sketchy, dirt road that led into the jungle. Of course, we took it. Having no idea where this road was taking us, we found ourselves deeper and deeper into the jungle. Eventually, we came across multiple rivers that we needed to cross and 3 different little villages at the base of the mountains.
Then, we came out to an open field where we could see a road going up the mountain in the distance. We walked over to this road and followed it. It led to the top of the mountain where we even found a restaurant (I got chicken fingers and it was glorious). All in all, we ended up hiking almost 15 miles, without any actual plan.
What is my point in this? Well, we learned that this final road was a straight shot all the way from the highway to the top of the mountain. This is the road we took on the way back. It was probably half the distance as the route we had taken to get to the mountaintop.
However, if we had known about this road, the journey would have been so much less fun and exciting. So much of the adventure was not knowing where we were going. So much of the adventure was getting to see the beauty of the jungle, the rivers, and the little villages. If we would have known about this easy route, we would have missed ALL of that.
The Lord is continuing to teach me a lot about patience. He is also deepening the beauty that I see in His mystery… the beauty that I see in not having all the answers.
I have had the opportunity to step into quite a bit of teaching and discipling within our squad. I have had a lot of people come to me with different questions, looking for knowledge and wisdom. It has been really beautiful. I have found myself becoming more and more comfortable with giving the answer that is simply, “I don’t totally understand this, but what I do know is that He is good”. I might not know where the mysterious trail towards the mountain ends, but I know there is beauty along the road.
And that trail might not reach the mountaintop like our adventure did. There is a massive mountaintop in my life right now that I so hope my “trail” leads to, but I don’t know. However, I am starting to see the beauty of the jungle along the way, regardless of if I am lucky enough to end up at that mountaintop.
There is a reason that we are so captivated by the “comeback” stories. If you really think about it, we don’t want the easy path anyways. That path is so much less rewarding and boring.
It makes me think of Elijah in 1 Kings 18. He is alone, against 450 false prophets of Baal. They decide that the true God will be proven by whoever is able to bring fire to a sacrifice. After hours of the false prophets failing to see an answer from Baal, Elijah steps up. He makes the situation as impossible as it could be. He soaks the sacrifice in water. Elijah steps forward and says, “let it be known today that you are God in Israel”. Basically, Elijah says, “If you are the one true God… if You are the God I believe You are, then get Your glory”. And Fire fell from heaven! It didn’t just consume the sacrifice. It burned all the wood and evaporated all the water. There was just a black mark where God had showed up in holy fire, and consumed it ALL.
So, my encouragement to you is to embrace the mystery that God invites you into.
And please here me. I am not saying that you shouldn’t question. You absolutely SHOULD question. Doubt and faith aren’t opposites in the Bible. Faith and sight are opposites. Faith isn’t an absence of doubt, but a willingness to stand on a promise… even when there isn’t tangible evidence.
I think about Thomas after the resurrection. Jesus appeared to all the disciples except Thomas. Thomas comes back and doesn’t believe anybody. He says that he won’t believe unless he sees the scars for himself. A week later Jesus comes back again. Please see that Jesus came back just for Thomas. He had no other reason for coming back that second time. He shows Thomas the scars, and Thomas falls to his knees saying, “My Lord and My God”.
Ask questions! Jesus isn’t scared of your questions. He knows that at the bottom of all the investigating, He is TRUE. I am challenging you to just be okay with the answer being a mystery. Be okay with the continued wrestling that He might invite you into. Be okay not knowing every answer, but KNOW that He is GOOD. Choose to see how much beauty there is in the unknown.
That awe and wonder is a beautiful place to be. Don’t get so lost on hoping you reach the mountaintop that you miss the jungle.
