Ergos found himself standing at a point in the trail, and at a time, when the light of day was quickly retreating behind the mountain. There was an urgency to press forward, but a fear of the unknown not being in control of his situation caused him to pause. He knew from the map that his destination was somewhere ahead, but in the back of his mind, as if something that was to be kept at bay, returned the urge to go back the way he had come. Under his breath, he prayed to God to help him find his way. But those divine requests had no more left his lips when, in just a few more steps forward, he stopped and turned around. Doubts began to flood his mind. “What would those whom he told God had called him say? Would he become a joke, a horrible representation of what happens when you become a Jesus freak? Giving up would be saying that what he thought was his calling was a misunderstanding. Would this diminish his faith?” Like a torrential cold rain, the thoughts kept flowing until, at last, Ergos gave into that suffocating desire to allow his known path to lure him back.
As he regretfully began to retrace his steps, he quickly became aware of a phenomenon he had not anticipated – the pathway started to close in as if the forest was supernaturally reclaiming his only course of retreat. Ergos pushed into the oppressive briars and brambles until it became apparent that this was no longer sustainable, and gave up. He now had no choice but to turn around once more and endure the daunting prospect of entering that dreaded unknown. As his footsteps led him forward, the intimidating darkness shrouding his pathway found a friend in his realization that there was no going back. The doors he thought would remain open, his safety net, were now closed, no longer accessible. When he chose to embark upon this journey, he had never thought he would ever consider giving up, although its prospect was like an arrow in his quiver, there if needed but kept in reserve just in case, but it was now gone, removed against his will.
Suddenly, a greater resolve struck his heart. That calling that had been there from the beginning returned, the voice now louder than ever before, “Why do you doubt when you know that I will take care of you if you would only give all of yourself to me.” He paused, hands on his hips gathering himself. As he did, Ergos felt a momentary tingling pulsate from the bottom of his boots, slowing growing like that of a wave washing over the shore until it reached the top of his head. The sensation of a mighty hand enveloping his being came over him, cradling him in the safety of its palm. Ergos didn’t believe that faith in the Holy Spirit required something physical, yet there it was, that undeniable sensation of something comforting him. Then, he realized a change in the forest around him. The gray darkness began to change as the light began to flow from another source. His eyes followed the transition from the tip of his boots going forward finding a gentle glow illuminating the pathway ahead as the moon was rising just below the edge of the dark mountain above. Like a strand of silver ribbon, the way forward beckoned as the hope in a dark world.
No matter the outcome of what the future held, from that moment forward, Ergos never looked back. In his heart, he knew that God was with him and that through every trial and hardship, no matter how bleak the night became, his Father in Heaven would be there with him.
“And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” – John 10:28-29
