Dennis Cove Recreation Area

In younger years I could clamber around hillsides without any problems or worries. Growing up in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky, I had plenty of practice. Walking up and down large slabs of limestone, jumping from rock to rock along the creeks and rivers - no problems. I actually never thought much about it.

 

Time (and age) changes most everything. That fact was impressed upon me again last week as I joined up with a friend for a short hike to Laurel Fork Falls, one of the loveliest spots I know in the region I call home.

 

Most of the hike from the Dennis Cove Recreation Area to the falls is easy and gloriously beautiful. It's the Appalachian Trail you're traveling, and the hiking doesn't get much more enjoyable as you travel parallel to Laurel Fork Creek. The trail was once a narrow-gauge railroad used for logging. That explains why the path is often level and gorges have been cut into rock.

 

The last part of the hike down to the waterfall can be dangerous. It's a steep descent, and rocks have been arranged to make rugged steps. On the day we hiked, a dusting of snow lay on the ground. I made full use of the hiking stick I carried that day, and moved slowly down the steps. The fact that I was hiking on an artificial knee (not yet a year old) added to my nervousness. By using extra caution, I managed to navigate the slope and it ended up being an outstanding hike.

 

The Bible frequently uses the image of walking to teach us how to live. David, for example, made this appeal to God in Psalm 17: "Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip" (Psalm 17:5). This man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22) realized that many dangers were before him, and he needed God's help to safely make his life's journey.

 

Asaph (who authored about a dozen of the Psalms) was specific in talking about one such danger: "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked" (Psalm 73:2,3). How many people realize that the feeling of envy is a danger? Asaph knew it, and with God's help he was able to avoid falling into this mindset with all of its misery.

 

The message I'm attempting to communicate is predicated on this truth: "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). Safe travel on this pathway we call life depends on help from the Lord.

 

But will God respond to appeals for help as we hike through life? Listen to the testimony of David again: "[God] makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on my high places" (Psalm 18:33). God is more effective than any hiking stick. He makes it possible to walk securely.

 

The key to rising to the challenge is faith: Faith that God knows the way, faith that God will respond to our personal needs, faith that God's ways are best. As Paul stated so succinctly, "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

 

Be careful where you walk today; it could be slippery. You'd be wise to walk with God.

 

Timothy D. Hall.