Is God Worth a Follow?

Hiking in Colorado is for me a lot like the phrase “my eyes are bigger than my stomach.” I have grandiose ideas that I can hike way more than I really can.

Nevertheless, on our second day in Colorado, we started the Coulton Creek trail that went on to become the Hinman Trail, in Routt County. These trails probably mean nothing to you, as they did me. It wasn’t until we started climbing that they began to mean something to me. We knew the hike was about 9 or so miles. I was hurting by 2 miles from some interesting altitude sickness that I hadn’t planned on.

On our hike, we traipsed through ankle deep mud, complete with horses' hoof marks and other unidentified tracks. We passed over, around and under limbs that had encroached the trail. We took on some good windy inclines that took what little breath I had…away. We saw beautiful wildflowers, with ornate curvy Aspens, changed by the shifted land. Just to top it off, on those 9 plus miles, we saw only 3 people! But, the cool part of the trip was my mountain man husband, Ben, leading the way for my dog Zoe and myself.

Ben knows mountains and the ways of the hiker. I trusted him. Even when there were times I thought we’d lost our way, Ben would review the map and confidently lead us. Ben constantly would alert me when there was a rough patch, while always checking out how best to get around the fallen limb(s) on our path. He would encourage me to rest in the most beautiful places and take in the beauty.

As I was hiking, I was thinking about the beauty of Psalm 23 and the Shepherd. The focus in the Psalm is that God is always with us. As we grow in relationship with Him, we can say as the Psalmist, there is nothing we lack. He guides us and leads us. He knows what is best. He will never leave us. (Hebrews 13:5-6) Sadly, we are the ones who wander and go our own way. We are the ones who can often think we have a better way or can manage life on our own.

I’ve learned through the rough and smooth patches of my life that I really don’t have a better way. Not one. God’s path is really the best path for me to follow. He will never lead me astray and He longs for real, authentic, close, down-to-earth relationship with me. I will spend the rest of my life making my relationship with God a high priority.

Is God worth a follow? Just try Him. 

“Faith don’t come in a bushel basket, Missy. It comes one step at a time. Decide to trust Him for one little thing today, and before you know it, you find out He’s so trustworthy, you be putting your whole life in His hands.” Lynn Austin

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall lead me, And your right hand shall hold me." Psalm 139:7-10

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.