Jacob woke up and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it” (Genesis 28:16).
I was reading this the other day and thought, “How many times have I felt the same way Jacob did?” Looking back over my life at challenges which in many ways felt all consuming (when I was going through them), I realize that they turned out to provide exactly the lessons I needed to move forward.
Thinking about preparation for a new season, there’s just as strong a parallel to the story of the disciples. The teachings of the New Church speak about the mindset of the disciples, and why they were chosen in this way:
“The reason why the Lord spoke (to the disciples) in the way [recorded] was so that they would receive those external truths [basic teachings] and through them be introduced into internal truths [the deeper meaning for our lives].
Inside the external truth which the Lord spoke, internal truth was stored away, which after awhile comes to light. And when these things come to light, the more external truths are dispelled and simply become tools we can use to think about internal ones” (Emanuel Swedenborg, Secrets of Heaven # 3857).
I thought about the road to Emmaus—when the disciples were walking along with a man they had just met (and didn’t know was Jesus). They were interacting with the Divine incarnate and couldn't discern it. If they had, and had seen that the whole of their lives was going to convey a spiritual message to all people about how to
have a relationship with Jesus (the Word teaches) they would have been overwhelmed and fought against it.
The same is true for us, isn’t it? If I had seen early in my life—while struggling with thoughts about whether I’d ever find a partner, have friends, overcome issues of disability, or even hold down a steady job—that each of these forks in the road served to strengthen (rather than detract from) my relationship to God and other people—I
really believe I would have fought against it. Each of these “watershed events” occurred because I had to make a choice, not because some foretold destiny was thrust on me.
Our faith becomes real when we choose it. If you don’t live it, you don’t really believe it. I can look back on many of those “big picture moments” in my life now and sense the current of the Lord’s leadership through them. In my mind, this is really what “discipleship” is all about: connecting the true ideas you are
learning to the life you’re living in such a way that, even though you can’t see what the outcome’s going to be yet, in a sense you stop worrying about it so much—and trust. Trust that if you’re a willing participant in the stream of Providence—as Psalm 27 says, “Then the Lord will take care of you.”
As we approach a very different feeling fall, I think of this a lot. Were there times Jesus faced doubt about the goal...times where holding that sense of Divine mission involved struggling against a desire to fold under the pressure of people’s selfish tendencies? Absolutely. But He didn’t. He trusted in His Divine
Mission. I love the thought that the Lord came into the world so that the Human essence in God could connect to the human essence in us. That He took on (and overcame) our temptations so that we could be free to choose spiritual (rather than merely natural) life again. This is why we read: "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16: 33, NLT)
So the next time we come to a fork in the road that feels overwhelming, let’s take the path where we see “the shadow of the cross”—the one we know we cannot walk alone—and our Helper will be there to lead us from the temporary struggles of life in this world to the eternal peace of heaven.
Love and Peace,
Ethan
