I love hiking. Sort of. Well actually, I love hiking to places where at the end there is a high point to see a breath-taking view. But the journey to that point can be quite a challenge. You may have to walk up hills, climb over rocks, and carefully tiptoe across slippery surfaces. Along the way you may fall and you may even think to turn back because the end is no where in sight. All around you, all you see is the tough road ahead and its filled with obstacles. One after the other.
Isn’t life quite the journey? Especially the tough times. We can go through life, just trying to survive yet another day. Our lives suddenly become just about the challenge. Just about the obstacle. Just about the struggle and the trial. The end is no where in sight. Yet there is a longing deep inside our souls for more. For purpose. For a reason. And there is one.
When King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, he was venting. Venting about the complexities of life and its apparent meaninglessness. He calls it a striving after the wind. In his time of contemplation, Solomon wisely states that God has placed eternity into the hearts of man (Ecc 3:11). Our only hope comes when we search outside ourselves, when we search for God. God is our source of hope and meaning in this life.
Suddenly the complexities begin to make sense. They serve a purpose. They are situations and circumstances in my life to teach me to look up rather than look all around. To see things from a new perspective. And when we seek God and find God, we discover that the yearning of our souls, the cry of our hearts, was for God all along.
Then God takes us from the pit to the palace. From the muck and mire to the green pastures and still waters. He takes us to the mountaintop. And from there we can see the journey from a new perspective, heaven’s perspective… And we can see that in the deepest trials and darkest times, God was with us all along.
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