On My Walk…
By Ryan Vanderstelt
I have taken up
walking after
dinner, largely
for my health. A
side bonus is
the solitude of
no screaming
children, no
demands on my
time, no
deadlines─just
me and my
thoughts and
God.
I have been
working on
bringing my
relationship
with Christ
closer through a
stronger prayer
life. It has
been one of my
“struggle
points” for many
years. I try to
pray before bed
each night for
those on a list,
which I keep on
my phone. But
there are nights
I might fall
asleep
mid-prayer or
may not even
make it that
far.
Tonight, on my
walk, I turned
my eyes skyward
and started to
pray for some
kind of
direction in
what to
do/expect next
in the “grand
scheme” of
things. Well,
the sky didn’t
roll back with
masses of angels
descending on me
bearing the
answer on a
golden scroll,
but I
did feel the touch of God on my heart. Do you recall 2 Timothy 3:5,
where he talks
about people in
the end “having
a form of
godliness, but
denying the
power thereof?”
I was thinking
over the heavy
presence of evil
in our day, and
how it just
seems to
compound daily.
It is something
that had been
weighing very
heavily on me as
we see more and
more in the way
of all we were
told to expect
to see in the
latter days. All
of a sudden
though, it was
like God was
“removing the
scales from my
eyes” and
letting me see
it for what it
really was in
His view─to a
point
(I am not
claiming to know
the mind of
God). When I saw
it with this new
perspective, I
wanted to laugh.
This made me
think of the
verses in Psalm
(2:1-5) where it
says:
“Why do the
heathen rage,
and the people
imagine a vain
thing? The kings
of the earth set
themselves, and
the rulers take
counsel
together,
against the
LORD, and
against his
anointed,
saying, Let
us break their
bands asunder,
and cast away
their cords from
us. He that
sitteth in the
heavens shall
laugh: the Lord
shall have them
in derision.
Then shall he
speak unto them
in his wrath,
and vex them in
his sore
displeasure. He
that sitteth in
the heavens
shall laugh; the
Lord shall have
them in
derision.”
In all my
feelings of
being
downtrodden,
overwhelmed and
depressed over
the abundance of
evil, I was
letting myself
forget just:
Whom it is that
I serve. My God
will hold every
one of these
elitist,
backroom
powerbrokers in
derision. Their
vain work will
become nothing.
They are merely,
again, in the
“grand scheme of
things,” no more
powerful than a
bunch of ants
fighting over
breadcrumbs to
be the top ant
on the biggest
anthill. At any
time our God can
come in and wipe
out their little
pile of sand
with a swipe of
His mighty hand.
And their plans
are going to no
more destroy
God’s plans than
an ant in my
yard is going to
thwart any plans
of mine.
I know this
sounds very much
like an obvious
statement, but
the point is
that I was, in a
way, letting
myself
acknowledge the
godliness of
God, but
“denying His
power thereof.”
He was showing
me how to be a
warrior for Him
with a full
reliance on
Him─knowing that
He is and will
be there
regardless of
the evils and
their influence
on the world
around me. These
evil men and
women are merely
“roaches on
their little
roach errands”
(to quote
Stephen King)
scattering in
pain anytime the
light falls on
them.
I think, if I
can hold onto
what I felt
tonight, I will
be able to face
the evils
surrounding me
with a whole new
pair of eyes and
perhaps, even
become more of
the warrior that
He has meant for
me to be.
Just thought I
would share.
-- Ryan
Vanderr12@yahoo.com