I can imagine being an early settler traveling across this vast land coming upon the Mountains and thinking we just need to get over these mountain tops. But every peak yielded only more peaks and every peak yielded a completely different ecosystem. How many of them started out not really knowing what they were committing to? How many of them perished along the way? How many of them made it only because they had no choice but to press on.
I walked across the Hoover Dam and read the inscription. “ We will make the desert bloom.” Here we are 83 years later and the desert is still a desert. We have made it possible to survive, but we have not changed the desert.
Life is such an unknown adventure. We set goals. We make plans. 99 % of the time we do not understand the choice we are making. We do not see what is around the next bend or over the next peak. Our surroundings go from lush green forests to dry arid rock faces. We go from 890 to 410 to 1040 to 560. We firmly believe we can plot our future, but we do not have a clue what is over the next hill.
Yet, here in the midst of this Jesus comes, gives his life for ours and gives us his Holy Spirit to live inside of us, to remind us of all that Jesus has done. We find ourselves constantly acting like we are in control, but we truly can only succeed in Christ and what he has done for us.
I need to be reminded of this daily. “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) This same God who molded and shaped this vast land making mountains, plains, deserts and jungles is still watching you and he knows all you are going through and promises to never leave you or forsake you.