Miles of Hope

Last September I hiked 100 miles. I hiked in my socks through sand dunes and then through winding mountain paths with new friends. I scrambled up, and very carefully back down, steep buttes. I hiked through four state parks with six of my kids and a husband who was less than thrilled to participate in my 100 mile journey. We hiked on mesas, and canyon rims, and through hills of aspen trees arrayed in golden splendor that brought me to tears and filled my heart with praise for the God who would clothe nature with such beauty. I learned the trails at The Nature Institute like the back of my hand. I knew how many minutes it would take me to walk each one, and I timed it so I could watch the sun set over the Mississippi, which again and again filled me with awe. I hiked with friends, because outdoors was the one place we could safely be together. I hiked with my older kids, sharing our hearts in a way that only happens when you walk together in a quiet hollow. Sometimes I hiked by myself to be alone with the Lord. By October, I was a different person. One hundred miles and the prayers and conversation and worship and intimacy that was part of each step changed me. I was stronger and more sure of my ability to walk hard paths, but also humbled by the times my feet had slipped and I had fallen.

Heraclitus said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river, and he is not the same man.” And isn’t that the truth? People change. Day by day we are changed: by loss, by circumstance, by love, by choices, by pain, by growth, by time, and for the believer- by the Holy Spirit. Until one day we look back and the person we used to be isn’t recognizable to us anymore. Maybe it wasn’t 100 miles of hiking, but you’ve experienced your own journey. As we read scripture, we see how the Apostle Peter was likewise changed on his.

In Peter’s story, we can see ourselves. At times impetuous, Peter had a habit of speaking before thinking. In the gospels, he was a little unfiltered, and responded to Jesus in ways we find shocking. Peter witnessed what we couldn’t imagine- His dearest friend, dying by torture. Far removed from the event, it’s hard for us to fathom how it must have felt to see the Lord of all creation, the One who authored life, surrendering His own. We can scarcely imagine seeing Jesus die in such a way. When Peter witnessed His Savior and friend being murdered, he must have been undone. He would never be the same.

Then Jesus rose. Life was renewed and so was Peter. Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit fell, and Peter found his footing on the sure foundation that Jesus gave Him. He preached with a bold assurance that could only come from the Spirit. In the name of Jesus, he healed. In Acts 3, we see the people were utterly astounded by the healing of the man who had been lame from birth. This miracle gave Peter the opportunity to proclaim the message. Again and again, through the days and years, Peter would testify of what he had seen, and how he had been changed.

While we might wish that the Holy Spirit would not use pain as the catalyst for growth, it remains the great sanctifier. Passing though the fire or the depths with no visible means of help, we find there is nowhere else to go but to Jesus. The more often trouble sends us there, the more deeply we realize, there is no one else to whom we want to go.

Trouble would send Peter back to the arms of His Savior over and over. Near the end of his life, he wrote a letter to the scattered believers throughout Asia Minor. Christians were experiencing cruel persecution at the hand of Nero, and Peter reassured them with these words: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials...But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” At the end of it all, Peter’s life was characterized by hope- true, settled hope. Season after season, Peter proclaimed with his life “to whom else would we go?” His only hope in life and death was Jesus. And for Peter, whether healing the lame, or suffering in chains, he made the most of every encounter to tell of the Hope that was within him.

I have plans to hike 500 miles this year. In March, I’ll find somewhere in Florida, as I process what cancer and chemo are doing to my Mom. In April, I’ll backpack through the hill country of Texas, a place full of memories for me. I long to go back to Utah, to hike the Narrows at Zion, and chances are many of those 500 miles will be at the Nature Institute, where the sky meets the water in every color of the rainbow at sunset. I pray that with every step, the Lord will meet me and change me. My prayer is the same for you, friends. I’m asking Him to fill us with hope, even in this season, even in the valleys...a hope that nothing can ever take from us, a hope that pours forth from our lips, a hope that is sustained by Living Hope.

Until He calls us home,

Natalie