Jungle Guide

“He will guide us forever.”
Psalm 48:14

The Lord as my guide is an image I’ve had in my mind since I started reading God’s Guidance by Elizabeth Elliot. In her book, she tells the story of a time when a jungle guide was leading her through a forest in Ecuador.  The path they were on led across a log that stretched across a deep ravine.  She watched the guide walk along the log with no problem. She knew that he would be there to help and that the log was perfectly safe.  She also knew that this was the best way to reach their destination. However, she did not want to cross the log. She would have rather walked down the ravine, through the stream, and then back up the muddy slope on the other side.

Hearing this reminds me how the Lord is often our “Jungle Guide” as he asks us to do “scary” things for Him. It’s scary to share your faith with a neighbor and it’s scary to stand alone when making a right decision. It’s scary to raise support for missions. It is sometimes scary for us to think about moving to a foreign country. However, as I was meditating on this image of Jesus being our guide, I was also thinking about how a guide knows the terrain because he’s been there before. So, as Jesus goes before us and leads us, I can have confidence that he can catch me if I fall. He has walked this road before. He’s led many, many people over this road. He’s also been to Germany before, HELLO?! I have no need to be afraid.