When things get tough, the suspicion that you’ve made some mistake to get off course likes to try and sneak in. Or worse yet, that you’ll fail. But a little opposition or hardship doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re anywhere other than exactly where you’re supposed to be. Neither does a lot.
As I worked on this image, I got to thinking about how some bugs burrow into the earth for shelter. I can’t imagine they find it an easy task and they face any number of obstacles in addition to it. This, however, doesn’t cause them to question whether or not they should do it and it doesn’t stop them from trying. It’s inside them to do it.
I like to think that, as human beings, we have a little more than instinct to go off of. Of course we know to eat, drink and seek shelter; these are the basics of survival. We don’t stop there though. We dream and scheme and everything in between. We invent, we craft, we create. If God really did make us in His image and likeness (and I believe He did), then it’s really no surprise at all that our traits extend beyond instinct into the realms of creativity and choice. Ever had a dream so big on the inside of you, it seemed impossible? How do you suppose it got there?
The problem is, it seems, that we all too quickly forget in our own lives that great reward almost always requires determination, diligence and perseverance. When we hear the stories of those we admire, those stories are wrought with hardship and adversity. If their journey had been easy, they wouldn’t be remarkable enough to earn our admiration. When we’ve faced hardships along our own journey, we’ve given into those suspicions that we’re wrong, that we’ll fail, that we’ll never arrive at our destination and forgotten the very stories that inspired us to set out in the first place.
Facing trials and hardships doesn’t mean you’re wrong. You may not see how you could possibly succeed but that doesn’t mean you won’t. The Bible even affords us the wisdom to not lean on our own understanding, but to acknowledge God. Why? Because nothing is impossible with Him. You don’t have to understand how it will work. It’s like Davy Crockett said, “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead”, not “Be sure you know how things will work out and everything will be okay”. If you know deep down inside of you that what you’re doing is right, you can be sure you’re digging in the right direction.
