The Right Path

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (Jeremiah 33: 3, NIV).

I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors, but over the last year or so, I’ve grown to love hiking. That’s due, in part, to a good friend who loves to hike and always invites me to accompany her when she hits the trails. There’s something so satisfying about being out in nature, moving my body, and connecting with the Lord in the middle of His creation. And, to be able to do all these things in the presence of good company is just icing on the cake! My friend and I recently set out on a birthday hike to celebrate and spend some time outdoors during a beautiful, crisp fall day in Kentucky. It was picturesque, really.

As we weaved and winded our way through the trails, we allowed our streams of consciousness to flow from one topic of conversation to the next. We spent time discussing our struggles, our favorite things, our jobs, our hopes and dreams, our frustrations, and, as always, the desires of our hearts. My favorite thing about our time together: God is always invited. I love this verse found in Jeremiah 33 that says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” When we invite God into our conversations, we open the door for Him to reveal truths to our hearts that we may otherwise miss. Maybe we hear a certain song that contains lyrics that are specific to what our heart needs to hear. Sometimes He speaks to us through others. Maybe it’s a rainbow in the sky that reminds of us His promises. Well, that day, God showed up in a stack of rocks.

About midway through our hike, my friend and I landed on a tender topic, one that has yielded both struggle and surrender on my part. Though only my friend and I know the depths of what we were discussing, I can tell you that I’d been struggling with something that had recently happened in my life that left me questioning why God had allowed it and what it meant for the direction He was leading me. As I shared my heart with her, we rounded a turn on the trail, and I looked up to see this beautiful stack of rocks. I’d been snapping a few pictures throughout the hike and grabbed my phone to capture this moment as well. While doing so, my friend informed me that there was a specific name for this stack of rocks. After some brain wracking and an eventual Google search, we found the term: cairns. Further investigation revealed that “stacked rocks, more commonly known as Cairns, placed along the trail signify that you are on the right track. It is a marker guiding you to the correct path or trail in cases where navigation becomes difficult and the trail may be easily lost.”1

Well, well, well. I just love how God works! I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about Him. Even when we’re frustrated with a lack of understanding, He always gives us space to express our frustrations to Him. We’re even allowed to question Him. When you flip through the pages of Psalms, you’ll find many places where David cried out to God in despair. I don’t normally include entire chapters in my devotions, but for this particular case, I felt it was important for us to dive into these words. Let’s read Psalm 13 together below:

1O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? 2How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? 3Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. 4Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” don’t let them rejoice at my downfall. 5But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. 6I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me” (NLT).

This Psalm serves as a reminder that we’re allowed to bring the fullness of our hearts and emotions before God. He is not afraid. He wants us to come to Him. He cares. But, just as we see from David in this example, when we bring our fears and frustrations before God, we must also bow before Him in praise and worship. When I begin to question what God is doing in my life, it helps me to remember these truths:

Even when it doesn’t feel good, God IS good. Even when we can’t feel His presence, He IS near. Even when things feel out of control, He IS sovereign. Even when we don’t understand, He IS omniscient. Even when we don’t feel loved, He IS love. Jesus IS the Great I Am.

Though certain things in my life don’t necessarily look as though I thought they might at this point, I am always amazed by the ways He chooses to speak to our hearts, gently, yet in such a convicting way, at just the right time. While hiking that day, I was reminded that, even in the middle of my mess, God sees and knows my heart so intimately. Through a simple stack of rocks, God settled into my heart and soul that I was on the right path. Even when things in life get hard, the storms roll in, and I feel as though I’ve lost my way, God is always there. With Him as my trail guide, He will always provide exactly what I need to lead me along the right paths as long as I’m open to hearing His voice and heeding His commands.

God loves me enough to show up in a stack of rocks. And friends, He loves you that much, too. On the days we find ourselves searching and struggling to fully understand His ways, let us remind ourselves to call on Him, lend our ears to listen, and choose to worship Him while we wait for Him to show up in ways that only He can.

1. Musambi, Written by Erick. “What Do Stacked Rocks On A Trail Mean?” Trail and Summit, September 2020. https://trailandsummit.com/what-do-stacked-rocks-on-a-trail-mean/.