Struggle. We all face it. During this time of difficulty, we each have our own battles to face. No matter what comes our way, the beauty of struggle is we serve a Creator God who does not have to face the same struggles we do, yet has chosen to be a “very present help in time of need.” God chooses to dwell in feeble human hearts. He desires to give us strength, endurance, and staying power.
The picture above was taken on our last river trip of 2019 while standing on the shore at the mouth of Separation Canyon. It was here, where in 1869, three men from John Wesley Powell’s historic expedition separated from the party with a goal to hike out on their own. They were never seen again.
These three men faced struggle in the canyon. They were unsure of their leader, and unsure of the journey ahead. Rather than remain, they took matters into their own hands and left the refuge and strength of the collective group and its leader. This was a fatal flaw. If they had only stayed the course and trusted the “captain of the ship”, they would have made it to safety and exited the canyon within the next two days.
Often we do not know the journey ahead of us in life, but we can have faith and trust in our Captain and Creator who does. Sometimes the best thing we can possibly do is simply shelter in Him and stay the course He’s given us.
Whatever struggle you’re facing right now, whether its the Covid-19 Coronavirus epidemic or something completely unrelated, He is present. God is the great I AM. Take a moment right now to commune with your Creator and take refuge in His strength for you.
–Nate
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NIV
Nate is the Executive Director of Canyon Ministries. He has been leading trips and tours throughout the Southwest for more than 20 years, and has around 1,000 days guiding and teaching in the Grand Canyon National Park.
Over the years, he has also guided multi-day trips to various National Parks in the west, as well as creation science and biblical archaeology tours through natural history museums and sites around the world.