THE 11,000 MILE WALK

A Personal Testimony

By Michael K. Farrar,O.D.

 

In 2011 an average man endured some major trials and struggles that resulted from the poor decisions of another individual. These trials encompassed hardships of emotional, physical and financial difficulties. Through these trials the man was firmly aware that God had empowered him to remain true to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The man had not resorted to worldly methods to solve his financial hardships. He had not sought out evil means to seek revenge against those who had hurt him emotionally. He remembered the seven things that God hates mentioned in Proverbs 6:16-19 and that evil scheming was one of them. It was an established truth from God’s Word that those who seek evil and sinful means to solve problems and cope with trauma only reap additional storms in their lives.

 

The man often thought of the Biblical account of Job’s trials when facing his own hardships. Thank goodness he did not have it as bad as Job. The man would also consider the example of Paul and his thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

 

The man did not think he had a problem with conceit and needed a thorn in his life, but he knew that pride was an elusive creature and could hide in the nooks and crannies of one’s character. The man knew he could be self-deceived and thought that if he had even the smallest hint of conceit it would be appropriate for God to remove it at any cost even by placing a thorn in his life. But there might also be other purposes God was allowing trials to burden his life. God might want to burn into his soul a strong dependence on his Heavenly Father or increase his meager faith. The man was willing to endure whatever God might put him through to grow him spiritually, but he continued to pray that God would lighten the load of struggle in his life. This answer did not come.

 

The man knew he was not distant from his Heavenly Father for he sensed his Lord very close by his side. Sometimes he could almost feel a compassionate touch or hear an audible whisper of encouragement. His relationship with the Lord was a close one. If the trials were necessary to either purge some imperfection in him or deepen his dependence on the Lord, then it was a small price to pay for such purification and increasing intimacy with his Heavenly Father. The man would strive to focus on Paul’s quote of what the Lord had said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

 

He would also think of Paul’s response, “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” This was very difficult for the man to do. He wished he was strong like Paul…like Jesus. The man remembered the passage in James 1:2-4 where it says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

 

Oh what a verse! It was one thing to read such a verse when things were going well, when things were easy and hardships were far off on the past horizon. But to read such a passage from Holy Scripture in the midst of a deep trial was quite another thing. He knew to have joy in such trials was not to take joy in the pain of the struggle or hardship itself, but to take joy in how it worked spiritual maturity within oneself as you became utterly dependent on your Savior. He had often wrote and taught on this verse as a Bible teacher, now His loving Heavenly Father was the teacher and the textbook were the storms in his life.

 

So the man sought to take joy in how his trials would mature him in his faith. He took joy in the simple things of life, things that he had often took for granted in the past. He discovered that there was more time for God, more time for study in His Word, more time to minister to others, more time to pray deeply in ways he had never done before. He prayed for strength to endure his trials, but he also prayed for the needs of others and he always ended his prayers with praise and honor of his Heavenly Father, his Savior Jesus and the Holy Spirit that dwelt within him. He might lose everything, but nothing and no one could take his salvation from him. No one could alter his relationship with God. No one could remove his respect for the God’s precious Holy Word.

 

After the 11,000 mile walk…

 

The man often remembers his 11,000 mile walk that he had taken in the year of 2011. With the depressed economy, increasing overhead costs, cutbacks in payments from insurance companies and numerous other financial pressures, he had gotten behind on a major bill from one of his vendors. He thought how he had made cutbacks both in his business and personal expenditures to strive to get ahead of this mountain of debt. He made some headway, but the huge boulder of money owed to the vendor was never diminished in any significant way. It consistently remained an $11,000 looming black cloud. He remembered when he had reached a critical point of faith. This could not continue, but there was no way out, no answer. He had prayed and prayed for increased business, decreasing costs, some intervention from God to alleviate his dilemma, but no answer came. The man remembered how he finally desperately pleaded with God to provide some sort of answer, and finally the answer came.

 

No, God did not send him money from a rich uncle who had died. God did not let him find a winning lottery ticket on the ground in front of his business. God did not even increase his business profits through expanding sales and services. God provided a more difficult path to allow him to pay off this seemingly eternal debt. It was a second job. The man heard of another similar business which had a vacancy that required skills such as his. He called the business and asked if they would consider part-time help. They said yes. This extra job would require him to squeeze the schedule in his own business during the work week and also require him to work all day every Saturday. This would be a hardship, but the man saw no other way. The other concern of the man was that this second job would only last for three months. Would this be adequate time to provide enough extra income to smash this boulder of debt that kept rolling behind him with impending doom? Then the man realized he doubted God’s answer, God’s sufficiency and God’s provision for his situation. His response should not be to question God’s methods or fear the unknown future. His response should be to simply obey and grab the opportunity God had provided and run with it. So he began his 11,000 mile walk, you might say the walk that would be $1 per mile.

 

The work load and stress were great. The second job position was not as enjoyable as his usual work. The work environment was difficult and there were issues with adequate and respectful reimbursement for his skills. He missed his recreational time and breaks from regular work hours, but he managed to carve out small amounts of time to rest and relax. He kept telling himself, “It’s only for three months. He could do anything for three months.”

 

Finally there came a time the season of working this extra job ceased. The position had been filled by someone who would work full time. His journey was over. He felt like he had walked 11,000 miles, one mile for every dollar he owed on the debt. Had he walked long enough? The man sat down one day and through the use of a spreadsheet placed formulas in the program to add up all the income generated from the second job. Yes, it totaled just a little over $11,000. The debt could be paid and a great burden floated off his shoulders. Praise God!

 

What had the man learned from his experience? He learned that while God will often rescue His children from trials, He does not always work in this manner. He learned that while God will sometimes bless His children with an overabundance of resources during difficult times, He does not always do this. He learned that sometimes, God provides solutions to problems that require more from a Christian than one could ever imagine. God’s blessings are not always handed to you on a silver platter, they are often beaten out with the hammers and the tools of your trade. They are earned through trust in the Lord and hard work with the talents and skills God created within you. It was a hard lesson for the man to learn, but I know he learned it, because this man was ME and this was MY 11,000 mile walk.

 

While I learned a good lesson from this long walk and grew in my faith and trust of my Heavenly Father, I’ve also learned that such lessons are often just a prelude to yet another walk or test of faith. As I live my life now I sometimes sense that I am again walking in a desert, learning more lessons of faith, growing in my trust of the Lord and developing greater skills in denying myself and laying my life in the hands of my God. The life of the Christian is always a dynamic one. It is ever changing with God placing things in our path to cause us to seek Him, overcoming obstacles so we can rely upon Him more and growing more intimate in our relationship with Him. The hard lessons we learn are often a foundation upon which another lesson must be learned to increase our faith in our Heavenly Father so we are prepared for the next trial or obstacle. This is part of growing spiritually and becoming more conformed to the image of Christ. While the hardships I face in life are never pleasant or enjoyable, they are worth the blessings of sensing God so close to me as I struggle through them. I know that without them my faith would be much weaker than it should be. Trials and hardships are placed in our daily walk to make us more spiritually mature and facilitate an intimate relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit. I’ve learned to take joy in the midst of trials because of what God can show me about His love for me. I wonder if the reason the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with your entire heart mind and soul because that is how He loves us, with all His heart, mind and soul and He simply wants us to love Him as He loves us. A life without trials and struggles would be like a walk in a spring meadow full of brightly colored flowers, a stroll along path through a lush green forest or sitting in the sun on a peaceful ocean beach. But how much would we appreciate such experiences if we had not trudged through a hot dry desert, stumbled along a bumpy rock strewn path or attempted to climb up a steep difficult mountain trail?

 

I hope and pray if you are in a storm of life that before you seek worldly ways of coping and seeking answers, you will first of all seek the Lord in prayer, seek guidance in His Word and listen for His Holy Spirit to speak to you. God will not always give you an easy way out nor bless you with your request, but I also know He will not abandon you, nor forsake you. He loves you with all His heart and wants the best for you. His desire is for you to be a strong faithful persistent obedient mature follower of Christ. Many times, and sometimes the only way, for this to take place, is to take a walk in the desert, even if it’s for 11,000 miles or more.

 

Psalms 91

“Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty, can say to him, “You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust.” He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you. You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight. You have made the Lord your defender, the Most High your protector, and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home. God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones. God says, “I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord. When they call to me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them. I will rescue them and honor them. I will reward them with long life; I will save them.”