Strong and Courageous

We live in an uncertain world. At times, it is enough to cause us to stop in our tracks. If we do, however, we will miss out on what God is trying to accomplish in our lives. God’s words, “I will instruct you and teach you” (Psalm 32:8) do not mean we will be sitting in a classroom with five rows of six chairs. Instead, this promise from God is that he will provide us with hands-on lessons. If we “Keep going,” we will be strong and courageous.

Lizzy and I learned one such hands-on lesson when our children were young. We had planned for weeks to take a hiking trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. Whitney, our oldest, was eight years old. Chandler was six, and Holland was just over a year, which meant I would need to carry him on my back for the hike. I had purchased a special backpack carrier and had practiced carrying him on my back to build up my stamina. 

Our goal was to visit Abrams Falls. Abrams Falls is a waterfall with a large volume of water rushing over a twenty-foot high drop. It is named for a Cherokee chief whose village once stood several miles downstream. The hike is 5 miles over rough terrain. The trail map rated the hike as moderate in difficulty. However, as we began the hike, I was thinking the map was wrong and it was difficult, especially carrying a child on your back. Can we really make this trip? I thought to myself.

Our first obstacle came about an hour into the hike. It was a hot, summer day and the trail was more difficult than we expected. The girls were complaining, so we stopped for a water break, which gave us a chance to notice the beauty of our surroundings. The Great Smoky Mountains are beautiful. Our trail traversed pine-oak forests on the ridges and hemlock and rhododendron forests along the creek.

Feeling renewed, it was time to make a decision, turn around and head back to the hotel or keep moving toward the original goal. “Keep going,” Liz proclaimed. So, we did, and made it to the falls. It was worth the trip, but all I could say was, “Thank you Jesus.” It would not be the last time that I repeated this statement over the next few hours. 

We ate the picnic lunch we had packed, played in the water at the bottom of the falls, and I got one of my most treasured photographs of Holland and me with the mist of the waterfall soaking our faces. After an hour and a half, feeling refreshed, it was time to start the return trip. However, we were apparently not as refreshed as I had thought.

About half way into the return, our six year old Chandler had had enough. This was no longer fun and she was tired. She sat down right in the middle of the trail and wouldn’t move . . . no matter how much we coaxed her. It was starting to get dark and Liz and I were worried. We knew that black bears and other animals were active in the area, so we did not want to be on the trail after dark. I couldn’t carry two children and Liz did not think she could carry Chandler over the rocky terrain. So, we prayed . . . and, God sent an angel. 

A nice man walking along the trail stopped to talk with Chandler. She was smiling and he was kind, encouraging, and convinced her to drink the water we’d given her. I’m not sure what he said, but it gave her the motivation she needed. She jumped up and almost ran the remainder of the hike. I repeated my gratitude again, “Thank you Jesus.”

At the end of the day, I wondered, “What if we would have turned back early in our trip?” We would have missed the beauty of God’s creation. The fear of uncertainty would have kept us from experiencing the adventure with which God had blessed us. The hands-on lesson is if we “Keep going,” we will be strong and courageous. Jesus has promised that he will be with us, which is a similar promise to the one God gave Joshua. 

When Joshua was looking across the Jordan river, God instructed Joshua, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7). Like Joshua, God had given us the instruction to inhabit the land, to obey his law, “Do not turn from it to the right or to the left.” The promise to us is, if we will do this, we will be successful in whatever God has given us to do.

God will give us what we need for the journey he has set before us. We are stronger than we think. Even with the ever-changing landscape of our world, God will give us strength and courage when we need it most. Yes, we live in uncertain times, but we must “Keep going.” If we do this, we will be strong and courageous. We will see the will of God accomplished in the land of the living.

Also see Finish.

Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear