Once More Unto the Breach

There is always another corner to turn. There is always another surprise waiting. No one can know what tomorrow will bring. But that's part of the fascination, isn't it?...not knowing? There are always new people to meet and another new place to explore. Life is full of newness as God unfolds time quietly in front of us. Discouragement happens, and like much of life we wonder how long the storm may last and whether if tomorrow there will be sun again. Yet somehow there always is. New circumstances, and even new ways of looking at the old in a new light.

What then do we do when we turn a corner and find a challange blocking our path? If it were a blessing we would embrace it. Ought we not do the same with a challange? Too often the challange seems impossible, insurmountable, or just plain hopeless. But God would not have brought us around this particular corner unless He had a reason. He knew the challange was waiting for us even before we could see it ahead, and He chose to lead us this way anyway, the same way He has lead us past countless blessings and other trials in the past. And has He not been a faithful Guide in the past?

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
- Hebrews 10:23

Yet somehow that all gets forgoten with this new road block before us. "This is different," we say. Or, "God will surely lead me down a detore". Perhaps. But should we really be looking for that detore before attempting to surmount the challange? Often detores do not simply lead us away from a particular challange, but away from past blessings as well. We forget that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Too often we look for the most effortless fix. But have we not also considered that a detore may lead to a more challanging trial still? There is always another corner to turn. There is always another surprise waiting. Why not embrace the challange before us now?

This is not done in our own strength, but through Christ. And sometimes he does lead us down detores, but the chief difference is that He leads us, and not we who run. Sometimes this means repeatedly going into each day as though we walk against an endless, pounding storm. But God will renew our strength. We need to simply remember who is our Guide, and who's hand leads us along life's journey. Let us not run from it, but learn how to embrace it.

Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. - Count of Monte Cristo (film)