For my birthday a couple of years ago, I took myself on an all-day hike. And it was fabulous!
At one point—maybe at about the half-way point, something really significant occurred…
I got lost.
And it scared me.
I’d heard the stories before of those who’d gotten lost hiking, and had heard, also, how sometimes things didn’t turn out so well. Sure, I’d gotten lost before—as a very young child, but this was the first time I’d gotten lost in the wilderness and not just in a small park close to my childhood home.
The trail I’d been on for some time was, in fact, a blazed trail, but it had been a really long time since I’d seen a blaze. And, as the trail had not been traversed by anyone in some time, the newly fallen leaves had, essentially, obscured the trail from the rest of the forest.
At the very moment when that sickening feeling of being lost came over me, I heard a Voice from within say something like, “Stop, and just breathe, Dave.” And that’s exactly what I did…for close to 30 seconds or so.
Breathing in and out slowly, while focusing almost completely on each breath, can bring great calm to a racing heart beat, which is exactly what I needed in that moment. And then I heard that same Voice say (from within me) something like, “Tell Me what you see, Dave.” And, again, I did exactly what the Voice asked. I pointed out various trees and undergrowth…I noted all of the different leaves and branches that had fallen around me…I noted the somewhat overcast skies, which I could see through the bare branches in many of the trees…I noted the sound and movement of the wind as it blew through the forest.
This little “observation exercise” went on for no more than two or three minutes before I began to point out my observations of what I thought looked a little like a trail. Had I not stopped to engage in such an exercise, I might not have noticed the subtle differences in the terrain and undergrowth in the area that was looking a lot like a trail to me. I remember concluding my observations with saying something out loud like, “Lord, that looks a lot like a trail!” And, once again, that little Voice from within said something like, “Why don’t we see where it goes?” And so I did—or, rather, WE did (that is, God and I)—as I resumed my trek onward.
About fifteen minutes later, guess what appeared on one of the trees not too far in front of me? Nothing less than a blue, diamond-shaped, trail blaze! I remember breathing a huge sigh of relief and offering a hearty “thanks” to He Who had been with me the entire time.
I laughed a little at myself, too. :o)
As I continued to hike, that little Voice from within began to stir again. It was as if God, Who lives inside me in the Person of His Holy Spirit, had engineered all of what had just happened to teach me something profound. In my heart, this is what I heard (Note: What is provided below is just as I wrote things down in my God's Voice Journal.):
— 11/27/09 Entry —
Dave…
The path you are on is the one I have for you. Fear not, for I AM with you, and I have given you the wisdom to discern where the path is heading. Use your instincts, Dave, for they come from Me.
What I wish to begin communicating with you, Dave, are the things on My Heart. Less and less will what I have to Say be about your direction day to day. There will still be some—more like a blaze every half-mile or so—but the bulk of what I wish to Speak to you concerns those things on My Heart.
I want you to know Me, Dave. I want My Thoughts to become your thoughts, and I want the beat of My Heart to become the very beat of your own heart.
I just want you to enjoy Me, Dave.
Come and see…taste…and share My Song.
May God bless all of you in this very moment,
Dave
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