Can you hear from God while hiking? Well let me explain to you what was birthed in my spirit while I hiked the Rahway Trail in South Mountain Reservation this week. Though it’s been a while since I hiked this trail, I felt so at peace the moment I started on the trail. At a snail’s pace I started because I remembered at the beginning of the trail it is very hard to know what direction to go because the markers do not start right away. Once I found my barring I was able to pick up the pace and the hike.

Now I will get right into the matter at hand. As I walked the hike I was confronted by all manner of distractions. For one, flies are a terrible nuisance. They constantly buzz in and around my head. They kept flying into my ears and mouth. Oh next time I go hiking I will first go to the store and by some OFF. Next there are the small rocks that you step on and press into the sole of my sneakers so bad that I am forced to bend in pain. They also cause tremendous discomfort to my ankles. There are large stones the size of medium boulders that you have to climb to get around. These are a nuisance because there is no walking around because sometimes the trail is on a cliff and there is no room to maneuver so you have to climb and don’t lose your footing cause you may fall down the side of the mountain.

There are the roots of trees that come out of nowhere. Each step on the trail presents different obstacles where the roots of trees spring out of nowhere. They may be hidden under leaves or covered by rocks. You skip over the rock just to have a root placed obscurely hidden right near where your foot lands and you almost trip and either break or leg or fall down the mountain.

You have the stream where you are not able to see how deep the water level is and you step carefully only to fall because the distance of where you thought you were stepping down to and the actual floor of the river bed are way off. Again you are at risk of stumbling or breaking a bone.

Let’s not forget about the distance of the trail. You may be mentally prepared to hike several miles or hours, but the trail is way longer than you are prepared to hike. You can’t turn back and you are uncertain of the distance ahead you. If you were mentally prepared to hike 3 hours expecting the end of trail to be right in front of you and its not than going back is another 3 hours. Now the end may only be 30mins from where you are but you do not know. This is a major dilemma, and maybe more than you feel you are able to handle.

This is just like life. We are constantly bombarded with issues. They range from mental, financial, emotional, physical, spiritual and relational. They overlap and delve into grey areas. Life is complicated and often times we get tripped up and trip ourselves up. We try to deal with life, but often our community may be an issue and interferes with our progress. Often it’s our own mentality that causes us to have dilemma after dilemma. Our lives goes around and around in circles. We open our hearts to God, but often snatch it back and struggle constantly to correct the situations ourselves.

Life is considerable like a hiking trail. There are thoughts that operate like flies, in and out of our ears and minds. We are always thinking of what we want to do and what we want done for us. Thoughts are nonstop and we lose control sometimes. Only through meditation on developing our minds on Christ do we begin the process of quieting our minds and controlling our thoughts.

Life is like stumbling on rocks and falling over tree roots. We are always running into obstacles that trip us up. When you get yourself in too much debt and now can not pay all your monthly expenses with your monthly wages. Or when you drink too much and have a fender bender, hopefully nothing worse than that. When out of pure stupidity you take your anger out on a family member like your child whom you are suppose to love and protect. These issues plague us for a long time. Years may pass before we get things right. All this and more pile up on top of us and we are beaten down. Add to this the depression we feel because we think we are failures. There is hope.

There is a scripture that says: “Lord, show me your path of life. For in your presence is fullness of joy and mercies forever more.”  The thing about Righteousness of Christ and the Mercies of God is that when we are on the road of life. The path of God is there too. It does not stop you from falling, but it provides you the means and opportunity to stay calm and learn to be attentive to the issues that surround you. You see, God has been in the Salvation Business, since the beginning of time. He knows all that will happen to you and He still allows you to do what you do. What He does is provides the Path of Righteousness and Forgiveness so that you can also see what is happening to you and give you “good sense” if you choose to use it.

You can at the beginning of your life, make good choices. Or if you are not that fortunate, you can TODAY decide to make better choices. I encourage you to Seek God and don’t just lean on your own understanding. Seek Godly counsel and follow the lead of the Spirit of God. Walk a Christian Life. The Words of Jesus are true and are full of joy and provide mercies. All choices are difficult, even the choice to do what is right. But the choice to do right is better. Even as we struggle and stumble in this life, the path of God will be there to make things better. Before you choose a direction, seek God’s Wisdom to make the right choice. If the choice is a wise choice, have faith in God to follow it. God is Wisdom.