HOW TO WALK WITH JESUS (IN A COLD, COLD WORLD)

I received snowshoes a lifetime ago but never felt the need to use them. Until last week's blizzard, my boots seemed to work just fine.

But the growing drifts forced me to reconsider that maybe it was time to stop pulling myself up by my bootstraps and surrender to an age-old design.

After a few snowshoe steps, I realized I had made a wrong assumption.

I thought snowshoes carried you above the snow. Turns out, they're meant to take you through it.

So, it goes with the Spirit of the Living God in our lives.

God doesn't remove you from the world when you're saved and deposit you directly in Heaven. Instead, He calls you to walk through this blustery world with Him.

You don't have to be a snowshoe expert. You only need to place your bloodied, blistered heels in His tender hands. He'll wash them clean, pat them dry and bind them securely with His love.

Jesus knows life's a brutal journey. The path's narrow, steep and long. Yet Jesus knows the way. He's committed to bringing you Home. 

No matter how sheer the climb, He'll never let you go.

No matter how brutal the tundra, He'll help you press on. 

Day by day, step by step, you and the Holy Spirit will begin to move as one, the way God intended.

And at the end of the trail, you'll look back at where the two of you have been and realize that every step through this world was worth it. 

Because of Him.

"Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives."

Galatians 5:25, NLT