A young man stands at the place where his journey is to begin and gazes upon the path before him. As he looks ahead, he can see a wide variety of landscapes unfolding in the distance. He can't see too far down the path with any real clarity, but he can see enough to know that there will be challenging times ahead if he is to continue moving forward.
As he begins his journey, he's struck by how the path seems to change a bit with every bend, and how some obstacles which looked daunting in the distance become easier to navigate than he initially expected. On the other hand, some areas that appeared to be smooth and easy to navigate become far more dangerous when viewed closely.
At times he finds himself climbing rock walls, with barely enough space between the rocks to gain a foothold. He can feel his muscles aching, his breathing becoming far more labored, and he wonders at times if he'll reach the top. He sometimes looks down as he's climbing and allows his fear of falling from such heights to cause him to stop climbing and simply hold on as he regains his composure.
Other times he finds himself walking calmly through smooth, soft valleys without a care in the world. His pace picks up, he feels calm and confident, and he's able to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
On either side of this path, he notices large, thick grapevines growing along the entire distance. When he stops walking and remains completely silent, he can hear whispers coming from behind them.
His curiosity gets the better of him, and he moves closer to the grapevine on the right, putting his ear to it to see if he can make out what these whispering voices are saying. As he does so, he can hear voices encouraging him - saying things like "Keep moving forward.......We're with you.......There's nothing on this path ahead you cannot overcome........Do not fear.......We will lead you, guide you, and direct your steps.........With every new bend, you will see beautiful things........Things you never even knew existed.........If you grow weary, listen to our voices........We will strengthen you.......And when you reach the end of this journey, you will be in paradise."
Puzzled by this, he moves over to the grapevines on the left side of the path and puts his ear near to them. As he quiets himself to listen intently, he hears these voices speaking to him in a very different manner. "Give up." they say........."Who do you think you are?........You'll never be able to make it through the next bend.......You don't have the strength........You don't even know if you're heading in the right direction.......Why are you even trying to move forward?.........What good will it do to make it to the next bend?.......What will you find there?.......You may be eaten alive, or fall from the rocks to feel your body crushed upon the jagged terrain below.........Stop here and make a home for yourself........There is nothing good beyond this point."
He returns to the middle of the path and continues to move forward. As he does so, he comes across others who are also on this path. Some continue to move forward, offering words of encouragement to those behind them, warning them of dangers ahead they cannot yet see.
Others are sitting on the side of the path, mocking him for being foolish enough to believe there is anything worth finding at the end.
This path is our journey through life
We struggle to move forward at times, wondering if there's any point to any of it. We come to places where we feel as though everything is going smoothly. We are energized by the beautiful things we see, and other times sometimes we become discouraged by the rock walls and pitfalls. We sometimes doubt that we have the strength to take one more step.
Throughout this journey, we have two distinct voices that continually speak to us.
On the one hand, we have God, who is always there for us if we seek His voice - always eager to guide us, direct us, encourage us, and give us His strength. In addition to this, we also have His people..........People just like us who have already made it through some of the pitfalls we've yet to face, and who are more than willing to help us through the hard, rocky places.
On the other hand, we have the enemy, who wants nothing more than to destroy us, discourage us, lie to us about who we are and what we can or cannot accomplish. He also has his people........People who - without even knowing they are doing so - will influence us to give up on our belief that paradise awaits us if we keep moving forward.
So these questions remain: Who will we listen to? Which grapevine will we hold our ear to? Who will we choose to believe?
Our answers to those questions are not permanent..........They are not decisions that are made one time, then forgotten. These decisions need to be made on a daily, if not an hourly basis, and the manner in which we answer these questions at that very moment will determine how far we move forward within that hour or that day.
Which voices are you hearing at this very moment?
No comments:
Post a Comment