Surprising Encouragement

Today was a long day. I spent 11 hours at church today, and then came home and ran 10+ miles because I'm so close to reaching 200 miles for the month. In fact, after tonight's run, I only need 1.1 mile to reach 200. Should have kept going. Oh well, I've always got tomorrow and Wednesday.

Back on track.....so I'm running tonight. I've had some dreams for a little while now (they will remain nameless, and not like dreams when you sleep but dreams as in future aspirations) and they come to mind again tonight. I spend almost the entire run thinking about them. I got home, showered, and began to see my favorite verse, Isaiah 42:16 in a whole new light. Let me refresh your memory (even though I just posted about it).....

"But I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way,

who can't see where they're going.

I'll be a personal guide to them,

directing them through unknown country.

I'll be right there to show them what roads to take,

make sure they don't fall into the ditch.

These are the things I'll be doing for them--

stick with them, not leaving them for a minute."

I always took this in a sort of "Help God, I'm in real trouble here and you are promising to take my hand and guide me through this mess." But tonight was different. I think that definitely God wants us to know He will be there, much like search and rescue in times of need. But, I also think He wants to lead us into and through adventures, challenges and situations that will put us to the test. They will require everything in us, and at the end of the day, that won't be enough. We will have to rely on Him. But what He leads us into and through, will be so rewarding. Words won't be able to describe the impact on us!

Too often I've viewed God as someone to lean on in times of trouble, much more so than someone who will lead me through a life of adventure. Maybe it's time I begin to let the Holy Spirit take my hand, be my personal guide, and show me what roads will lead to adventure with Him. I don't want God to only be there for me like a search and rescue unit. I want Him to be like an adventure guide I hire at the beginning of an adventure. Someone that's there the entire time, that I trust to lead me into and through some exciting and dangerous adventures.

Stuff like this just gives me the chills!

Then we've got crazy stuff like this kayaking video!

And of course, it'd be tough for me to talk about adventure without a little trail (or in this case mountain) running video thrown in.

Now, adventure with God leading the way will look different for everyone. And certainly won't necessarily regularly include things like mountain running, kayaking, base jumping in a wing suit, or other things like this. But I think we can come to a consensus that when we allow God to lead, life gets very adventurous very quickly. Trying to follow the Holy Spirit can be very unpredictable. In fact, that reminds me of a book written by Mark Batterson, called Wild Goose Chase. Here's an excerpt found in the introduction.

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….
Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” --from the introduction

Ok, that's enough rambling for tonight.