Trusting God When the Trail Gets Tough

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” — Proverbs 3:5-6

I was looking forward to a nice, easy three-mile hike with my granddaughters on a recent school holiday. I let my granddaughter to choose the trail as we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park. She said she found just the right one, and we drove to the trailhead. I started up the trail, trusting it would be what I expected. As it took twists and turns up a steep hill, winding through rocky crevices, doubts crept in. One granddaughter hopped up the difficult path like a gazelle, while the other needed a bit more encouragement. I kept hiking slowly and steadily with my hiking poles. By the time we reached the top, it was breathtaking, both with the wind and the view.

The trail was not the easy path I had in mind. It turned out to be three miles one way, with 1,500 feet of elevation change, rocky and challenging, all the way up to 10,000 feet. During that descent, the girls raced ahead, and I trudged along behind, falling once along the way. It was in that moment, sitting on the rocky trail, that the realization struck me: if I had known how tough the trail would be, I never would have taken either of those girls on it. We would have missed out on the stunning view and the shared experience of overcoming a hard challenge together.

Sometimes faith is like that, isn’t it? If God showed us the whole path ahead, most of us would probably turn around before we even got started. We would choose the easier way and tell ourselves we were being smart. But we would miss what He had waiting for us at the top. I am beginning to see that not showing us is itself an act of love. If I could see every challenge in advance, I might lose heart, quit, and miss the blessing waiting for me. Those words from Proverbs 3:5-6 make more sense to me now. Trusting God with all my heart means letting go of my need to understand every detail. Even when all I see are the twists and rocky places, He is guiding my steps and making a way. What are you trusting Him with today?

Dear Lord, help me trust you. Give me faith for what I cannot see, and guide my steps, even when the path is uncertain. Help me lay my worries in Your hands, knowing that You have a plan. Amen