Sunday, August 21, 2005
A conversation with Mark Tay today reminded me of a very important part in the book "Pilgrim's Progress" that we tend to not notice.
At the end of his journey, before he steps into the city, Christian has to walk through this dark river...i can't remember what the name of the river was, but i do remember that he nearly drowned in it and cried out to God for help and an angel pulled him out.
What was brought to my attention was that when he walked through the river, he had no one to walk with him through it. No friends, no guardians, nobody. It was purely between the pilgrim and God. And he had to keep his eyes on what was ahead in order for him to cross the river.
It seems that way sometimes in our life, doesn't it? Looks like we have to face a dark murky river all alone and have almost no hope of crossing it.
At times like that it takes a tremendous effort for me to realise that i'm really not alone, though i sure feel that way. God is always there - omnipresent, omnipotent God. My God.
I still struggle with that, with the face that i'm really not alone, sometimes. It's just so easy for me to feel out of place and left alone because i've been that way for the vast majority of my life. It's even easier to feel alone when you don't have the energy to deal with it, due to lack of sleep or stress from school and whatnot. Too easy to forget God is there. Too easy not to trust God. Too easy to forget what it really means to keep our eyes on God.
The progress is hard. Many hardships line the road and it's an uphill road. You will be alone, abandoned and deserted. You will be pressured, torn, stressed, contorted, bruised and beaten. You will cry, mourn, grieve, fear, anger, rage, and feel a host of unbearable emotions. But you must keep going. You must hold on to the hope. Sometimes it's the eyes set on the distant bank that's just out of sight that keeps us going. Sometimes it's all we have.
But at least we know it's there.
simply jon.pondered @ 8:15 pm
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