I like hiking Big Bend National Park. Trails start at Chisos Basin and ascend to the highest point, Emory Peak, 7832. It’s 2400 ft elevation gain from Chisos Basin over 4.8 miles.
While hiking at Big Bend NP, ascending and descending mountains, I saw a sign. The sign says, “Help Us Prevent Trail Erosion. Please Do Not Cut Switchbacks.”
First, hiking a trail from trail head to mountain top represents a spiritual journey. Hiking is my analogy of a believer’s spiritual journey. It’s the spiritual journey of a Christian from “new birth” to eternal life in heaven.
Second, the switchbacks represent tests or trials on our spiritual journey. It is one word in GR (peirazw). Tests and trials become temptations when Satan comes to take advantage of the situation. The trial situation gives God the opportunity to see what you are made of, and it reveals attitudes and character. Jesus was tempted by the devil, but it was a test of Jesus’ obedience to the Father’s plan. God tested the faith and obedience of Abraham to sacrifice his son.
Third, the first part of the trail is a gradual ascent with some flat parts. As the trail gets steeper and closer to the mountain top there are switchbacks.
Life has many switchbacks. God gives us switchbacks in life. God will not allow us to cut the switchbacks. God does not want “trial erosion”. (trail erosion, trial erosion – get it?) God has a purpose for the trial and cutting the switchbacks would cause trial erosion. The only way to finish a trial is to go through it and understand God’s purpose in the trial.
God may be merciful and shorten the trial: 1 Corinthians 10:13. No temptation/test has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted/tested beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to patiently endure it. This does not mean God will remove the test or trial, no trial erosion. It means He will provide “respite” and supply the strength to endure it, get through it, bear the pressure of it. (Just like hospice offers a 5-day respite for stressed caretakers.)
The greatest test in life, the steepest switchback, is when life doesn’t happen the way you want it to. It’s when life doesn’t happen according to your plan. Life takes a sudden left turn when you plan to take a right turn. What is God doing? Is God really in control. Is this Father God’s perfect plan for my life and my wife’s life? It can be something minor or something major. That steep switchback can be a disease or some other major loss. It’s a test of faith in the goodness and love of God.
If life doesn’t work out the way I want, then I must believe it is working out the way God wants. I must trust God. If life doesn’t happen according to my plans, then I must believe it is happening according to God’s “perfect” plan. This is not easy, but if you want to have peace then you must believe it.
I had a plan to retire and grow old with my wife. A plan for us to be as healthy as we could be in our late 60s. A plan for us to work part-time to supplement social security. But then in late 2021 Sandie began to feel shaking symptoms. It was diagnosed as ET (Essential Tremor) and then Parkinson’s. When we came to Dallas in late 2022 it was diagnosed as CBD (Corticobasal Disease) or PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy). Life didn’t happen according to our plans, and I am now a full-time caretaker.
What do you do when you come to the steepest switchback, the hardest trial? – Part 2 coming soon.
Wilenghart’s Wisdom 