It is absolutely exhilarating when walking through the mountains on a trail when you observe deer or elk, a turkey, or even an occasional bear (although I’m not positive I’d ever want to walk upon a bear!) But being surrounded by nature with the colorful, sweet smelling flowers and trees laden with gold, crimson and orange leaves can be breathtaking. It’s an amazing place to feel close to God. It is also a place to be inspired.
There are different ways people feel and express inspiration. Some are filled with courage, or an overpowering feeling of caring about someone or something. Other times it’s nearly a tangible enthusiasm, a determination to reach down deep within to enable them to reach for the moon while they chase their dreams, or it’s being filled with a confidence that seems boundless!
When the first settlers began crossing the mountains and plains of the “New Land,” they were inspired by the beauty and freedom of this place we now call the United States! They loved the land and surrounding nature with a feeling of inspiration that surpassed places they had moved from. Their journey carried them across wide expanses of water and then land until their hearts were filled with the wonder of these new places. They found a peace, acceptance and kinship with the mountains and prairie they likely hadn’t expected.
Their enthusiasm about the land created a deep determination to survive regardless of the odds. They had to care about their neighbor through hostile situations, shortages, winters, droughts and other unknowns; having courage that surpassed perhaps anything they had experienced formerly, while having confidence, that in the end, they would prevail!
In a world that seems filled with hate and distrust for nearly every neighbor around us, it gets increasingly difficult to feel the inspiration we need to even carry forward a single day. Our media is filled with unkind tongue lashings for anyone who would disagree with a particular thought or idea, that seems to be the “trend of the day.”
Crime and violence continue to worsen, as our laws continue to change, while seemingly accommodating those who are first to disagree with the moral institutions on which our country was founded. Expressing our positive feelings about God can be challenging even on a good day! As Believers, we are denied the right to share our faith, yet those who oppose our faith have been given legal right to speak untruths and vile words against us.
How, then, can we share Christ with others like we would share the excitement of a sports game? Where can we find inspiration to push onward? The only answer can be through prayer and the Written Word along with fellowship with other Believers.
I encourage you to take a walk in the place you call “home.” As you are walking, contemplate your conversations with others. Be inspired by helping others in need, recognize your strengths and use it to serve, read a biography on one of your heroes, learn something new or create a vision board! And then…. use all this to deepen your relationship with God.
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