A week ago, we were on a trip to see the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Now I have heard that it is incredibly beautiful and the view from the top is amazing. You look around you and are astounded by the beauty that the Father has created. What they do not tell you is that from Gatlinburg to the smokies, the road is small, windy and you are literally at the edge of the mountain. It is scary for someone who lives in Texas where the land is flat, and you can see far and wide.

As we drove up the mountain, I realized that every time we made a bend around the road or drove up and the road drops down, my heart starts pounding. Imagine this happening every 5 minutes for 4 hours. It took a toll on me. I started questioning why I wanted to see the Smokies, what made me think that the view was beautiful enough to risk my life? I kept asking my husband why we decided out of all the places to visit. We chose a mountain. At some point on this winding road, I was too scared to look out the window to see the view. I felt that if I did, the car would drop down and we would die.

I am not sure why I thought that but, when we finally got to the top and we came out of the car, the view was breathtaking. One of those views where you imagine waking up to everyday of your life and never getting tired. The different shapes of the mountain, the colors of the trees, the smoke illusion on top of the mountain, everything was as if it was painted. I realized it was worth it. The view was worth every windy, treacherous (in my opinion) road it took us to get there. I stood, looked around and I realized my faith was not even as small as a mustard seed. 😊

My relationship with God is the same. He has promised me so many great things at the end of the journey, but I get too scared to take the leap. In all honesty, if someone has simulated what the car ride to the mountain was like, I would not have made that trip. Deuteronomy 31:6 says

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

What was I afraid of? The journey going up was filled with mostly fear and a few times when I enjoyed the view, but the journey down was a different mindset. After I had seen what the top had to offer, taking a gazillion pictures, I started to enjoy the journey. I started looking around and appreciating the beauty that was around me. I was still a bit apprehensive, but my mindset had changed. I had seen the beauty at the top and I knew the journey was worth it and I needed to enjoy it.

Why do we as Christians, only trust God when we have seen the result? Is that even trusting? Why did my mindset change after I saw the view from the top? I missed out on the view from my side of the road and I only enjoyed the opposite when we were driving down. Just as I did, we miss out on things because we are so scared of the journey because we do not know what bumps are in the road. Proverbs 3:5

“Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.”

As children of God, we need to have complete trust that he has our back and he is with us always. It might not always feel that way because what we see and think is scary.

I feel like I only trust God when he has done the same thing for me before and I am going through it again. Do you feel that way? Sometimes even when he has done the same thing, I still feel a bit scared going through it because I do not know if he will answer me the same way or a different way.

His ways are so different from our ways and how we envision that he will answer a prayer. I think that is where the fear lies. Not knowing how God will answer your prayer.

Let us together make a pact to trust God unconditionally. Like David who knew he would defeat Goliath even though the people around him did not. Only then can we enjoy the journey of life with God on our side. I would be going back to the Smokies in the winter to see the view.