Category: Proverbs

  • Trusting when you can’t see the way

    It was a dark and stormy night. I know that sounds clichéd, but  I’ve always wanted to write it, and it was indeed a night that was dark (no moon) and stormy (with pouring rain at times).

    We were on a night march during basic training with the Canadian Armed Forces. We had an objective to find some miles away, using only a compass. It was so dark and the bush so thick in places that we literally had to hold on to the belt of the man in front to stay together. Even from that distance, you couldn’t see the man in front of you at times.

    If the person in the lead stumbled over something, so did everyone else. It was a real challenge to stay together. We were exercising noise discipline, so not more than an odd whisper was allowed. There were a lot of muffled curses and groans. 

    If you got separated, there would be no finding the group again, and the squad was penalized, so we had to hold on tight no matter what. I came to understand that night the reality of the old cliché about the blind leading the blind.

    Not only was it a night march to test our orienteering skills under less-than-ideal conditions, but it was also a team-building exercise. There was nothing to be done but hold on tight to the man in front and trust the leader with the compass. That was hard at times because every step seemed like we had walked miles, and it was unfamiliar terrain, so we had no landmarks to guide us.

    Eventually, we came out within about 20 feet of our mark and within the prescribed time. We weren’t the first team, but we were far from the last. One team had to be found after daylight, and a few stragglers were rounded up.

    We’re called to trust God in much the same way as we had to trust the man in front of us.

    Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

    Sometimes in our faith walk, we don’t know where God is leading, we don’t know how we’re going to get there and everything seems to press in around us. 

    He’s a much better guide than my teammates with the compass. God never fails to deliver on a promise. He has been faithful from before the beginning of time, and He’ll be faithful when time ceases to be.

    Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9

    Whatever you face today, trust in God to get you through it. 

    That’s not a cliché, it’s a promise.

    Until next time, put your trust in the one who always delivers.

    Kevin

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  • Fear Factor and the forbidden fruit

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    Four of us sat around the campfire talking about skydiving and  bungee jumping. Two of the four of us have jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft, but none of us had been brave (foolish?) enough to jump off of a perfectly good structure while tied to a rubber band. 

    Neither of the two skydivers was particularly experienced. My friend had jumped once, and I have two jumps to my credit (one with a problem chute and the other a crash landing). We are far from experts.

    Of the two non-jumpers, one has taken advanced helicopter survival training, which involves jumping from a substantial height into the water while wearing a specially designed flotation suit. My friend is a non-swimmer, so this literally involved a great leap of faith. It was an experience that he will never forget, but prays he will never have to repeat.

    All of us agreed that there is a critical moment of no return. You realize, if only for a second, that you have crossed a fine line and there is no going back. You have up to that exact moment to say no. Afterwards, it is too late.

    The four of us “got to pontificating” about the myriad of ways that people seek to find that adrenaline rush that pushes you to the enjoyable edge of fear. Insert too much fear, and the experience becomes simply frightening. Not enough adrenaline, and it is a waste of time.

    Some people have pushed themselves so far and so often that they have become adrenaline junkies. They seek the rush no matter what the cost. Many have died in the pursuit of it. They keep pushing the fear factor, seeking more thrills. Like any other addiction, it soon takes more and more to satisfy the “need” for adrenaline.

    I will probably never again jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft. Yet, the adrenaline rush was enough that just seeing someone do it actually makes my heart race a little faster, and the adrenaline kicks in. It would not have taken much more to “hook me” into the “need for the rush”. I think that sin often functions the same way.

    Many things seem all the more exciting and inviting just because they are “forbidden” or there is a risk of some form involved in getting caught. Once a person falls into the trap, they keep going back again and again. It is no wonder that the writer of Proverbs tells us to exercise godly wisdom over sin.

    The verses I have chosen to illustrate this point deal specifically with the sin of adultery, but the precepts can be applied to any sinful temptation.

    My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.For the lips of a forbiddenwoman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” Proverbs 5:1-14 ESV

    Run away! Take off! Remove yourself from temptation.

    If you have fallen, Christ will forgive you, but you will always carry the scarring. All sin creates scars. It wounds relationships, destroys trust, and brings consequences that will follow you. 

    Perhaps in the end, you will be able to keep it secret from everyone except God, but even that secrecy will have cost you something.

    You are far better off to have run away in the first place.

    Until next time, resist the temptation to look over the precipice into sin. You never know when the ground will collapse and suddenly find yourself someplace that you will forever regret going.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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