Watch Those Rocks

One of my favorite things to do is to go for a walk in the woods. I’m not a hiker…I’m a walker. I especially love to go to the mountains and enjoy the beauty, peace, and feel of the woods.

I’m always amazed that, as I walk, God has created all these beautiful things, and very few people will ever venture off the road and see them. There are flowers that no human eye will ever see before they fade and die. There are streams that no one notices and birds that sit high in the trees, just showing off the feathers God painted.

Many times on these mountain trails, you will encounter rocks…big rocks, little rocks, all kinds of God’s rocks. Even though we don’t think about it, every time we come to one of these rocks on the trail, we make decisions.

Some people see them as a hazard and dig them out and roll them away. If that’s you, God bless you. I’m not a rock mover. I figure God put them there for a purpose.

Some people are oblivious to the stones and trip over them and fall. One minute they are enjoying the peace and beauty of the woods. The next, they are admiring the dirt up close.

Others, while walking through God’s creation, never get tripped up because they keep their heads down and look for the rocks. They see them and point them out to others. Now, keep in mind, they miss a lot of other things. They miss what’s going on around them…but they never miss a rock that might cause them problems.

The last group chooses to see the rocks and use them.

Many times on mountain trails, things can get slick. All that rain and water from above has to come down. Good hiking shoes, even though I’m a walker, are a must. Hiking sticks help, too. But what is often overlooked are the rocks on the path. A stone stuck in the mud can become a good foothold and keep you moving forward.

If you are still reading, you may be wondering where I’m going with this.

Consider these verses from Psalm 91:11–12:

“For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

This is a psalm of protection. Throughout the psalm, we see God’s care and protection over His people.

Do you see it?

“So that you will not strike your foot against…a stone.”

God doesn’t put us on paths that are devoid of stones. God never promises to remove the stones. He never promised us that life would be free from obstacles and problems. What He does promise is that He will be with us as we encounter those things in our path that can trip us up.

Our stones may look like strained relationships, financial problems, difficulties at work, or stones disguised as health issues. Stones wear many different outfits. They may look different, but they are still stones. Some are small and don’t cause much trouble. Others are so large they can seem to break us.

The issue is this: How will we deal with the stones in life?

I think we can deal with them much like we deal with real stones on a mountain trail.

We can stop and work and struggle to remove them. Again, I think God puts some stones before us for a reason.

We can ignore them.

“What stone?”

But knowing that God protects us does not mean that we become oblivious to the stones. If your stone is a health problem, you probably should go see a doctor. Ignoring something won’t make it disappear.

We can also do just the opposite and focus all our attention on the stones in our path. We see them coming. We anticipate how we will deal with them. When we get to the stone, we already have a plan.

But there is a danger in that, too.

On the other side of the stone, you may have missed a lot of life because you spent the entire journey with your head down, staring at a rock.

Perhaps the best way to deal with the rocks in your path is to treat them like the rocks on a slippery mountain trail.

Use them.

Each time you push off a rock, you are climbing higher. You are moving forward. You are getting closer to your destination.

The rock that looked like an obstacle may become the very thing that helps you take the next step.

What stones are in your path today?

God has allowed them to be there. You may not understand why. You may wish He would remove them. But don’t spend your entire journey staring at them.

Watch those rocks. Learn from them. Use them. And keep walking.

God is not finished with you yet.