Character
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)
Fresh off of a three day backpacking adventure on the Hoh River trail in the Olympic Mountains I find myself reflective on the purpose of these kinds of adventures that I sometimes embark on with close friends. There is the obvious opportunity to engage in the enjoyable pursuit of photography as is obvious by the nature of this website. The chance to have the fellowship and uninterrupted trail time with a close friend that this brings is certainly a great benefit. The appreciation of God’s creation is always a part of the equation as well. But going deeper beyond those reasons and considering the self-inflicted discomfort that a trail can bring I contemplated this both on the trail as well as during the recovery days while fatigued legs recover and some significant bites (not sure if it was a bee or horsefly!) run their course to stop itching and fade away.
This particular trail became in its most challenging moments an opportunity to reach the very edge of personal physical limits while ascending 3,000 feet in four miles on day two of the hike. Moments of wondering if I could actually take another step forward or even wanted to do so. Some ego checking became a part of the story as my backpacking partner began to outpace me on the ascent and I had to use the mental (and sometimes audible) mantra of “hike your own hike” in order to not become discouraged. The humidity of the rainforest and the increasing altitude along with thick forest that prevented longer horizon views became also mental challenges to overcome. But ultimately, the question had to be answered for the deeper “why” of these treks.
Romans 5:3-5 is a good model to begin with as it lays out a pattern for the spiritual life in terms of suffering. The physical challenge of a difficult trail is an excellent metaphor and lesson for life to learn from but applying this to our actual spiritual walk has far greater benefit. Look at the pattern that the Apostle Paul lays out… Suffering produces perseverance. Just as I experienced on the trail suffering physically I could either quit or keep moving forward with perseverance. Once the perseverance was accomplished with more steps forward my character had been strengthened to realize I could do more. Once this realization of character happened it turned into hope that I could actually make it to the top of the mountain. This hope propelled me forward to where my friend was waiting at the top and in the end there was no shame to be experienced even though he had made it up much faster than I.
What enables and empowers us to keep moving upward on a trail? I think that strength comes from the preparation physically both in terms of daily exercise and good nutrition choices even realizing the limits of being in my mid 50’s. That helps in a physical challenge like this and we may have some control of it but for the spiritual we have to realize that our only hope is God’s love poured into us by the Holy Spirit. Spiritually we are unable to accomplish anything on our own and are completely reliant on the Holy Spirit to do the work so next time you are called to walk the Romans road of suffering take the time to ask God to give you what you need to climb whatever mountain is before you.
As always, I hope this blog post today has been a blessing for your life. As you go through your adventures of life don’t forget to take pictures along the way.
