This post first appeared in July of 2013 as a devotional from Barclay Press.
Bible Reading: Matthew 17:14-21
This past summer I went on my first backpack trip. Growing up, my family went on numerous camping trips to our National Forest campgrounds. We slept in tents and brought cook stoves with provisions to make our trips enjoyable and comfortable. Later we slept in a camper, until we were too old, and then three boys were thrown back into the tent. But I had always wanted to backpack: to rough it, to carry all my camping gear on my back, and to trudge through the wilderness.
After months of hiking in the foothills I thought I was ready. We arrived in Yosemite Valley and parked the truck. It is such a beautiful place! Once there, we grabbed the packs and slung it on our backs and began the half mile walk to the backpacker camp where we would spend the first night. UGH! I thought I was going to pass out!
Carrying a 20-pound daypack around the foothills was not enough of a warm-up for this. I now found myself carrying a 45 pound pack at an altitude of 4500 feet. I wasn’t as prepared as I thought.
Ministry is filled with opportunities to put into practice what we have learned. If I would have trained and trained for this trip but never went it would have all been in vain. Jesus works with the disciples and trains and trains these young men how to be like him. Unfortunately there are times when they (we) fail. But isn’t it in our failings that we grow?
Prayer Suggestion: At the end of each day determine where you have failed. Pray for growth from that failure and any resolved past failure.
-Pastor Rick Ellis
Pastor at Friends Community Church