Outdoors and God
Much of what I like to do is outdoors. I like to backpack, bushcraft, and camp. This, as you might have guessed, is my way of getting away from the world of big cities and getting alone with God.
In an article I read (link below), it lists 5 ways the Bible promotes the Outdoors they are.
Much of what I like to do is outdoors. I like to backpack, bushcraft, and camp. This, as you might have guessed, is my way of getting away from the world of big cities and getting alone with God.
In an article I read (link below), it lists 5 ways the Bible promotes the Outdoors they are.
1. AWARENESS
Wilderness experiences heighten our awareness of the existence of God. Colossians 1:15-20 says that Jesus is the One who made all of Creation, so it should be of no surprise that His Handiwork has an utter infinity of illustrations to elicit awe for God. The wilderness changes our perspective through expanding our comfort zones and showing us our need for God’s grace.
2. BELIEF
Adventures invite us to take risks. Belief requires taking a risk. Trusting, other people may come with some perceived risk, but the actual risk of putting your trust in Jesus Christ is zero. God used the wilderness to expose Israel’s disbelief and Jesus used storms and struggles to reveal the Disciples’ lack of trust.
3. COMMUNITY
Experiencing the Biblical community changes our wrong views of God, others and ourselves. Biblical community turns the world upside down in all the right ways. For example, we find out that washing other’s feet brings joy because Jesus came to serve not to be served-- and that includes us. He came to serve us! The wilderness teaches us that the foundation of the Christian community is the grace of God.
4. DISCIPLINE
The opposite of discipline is chaos & confusion. Ordering your life to enjoy the presence and peace of Christ is counter-cultural. It means saying, “No” to many things that everyone else is saying, “Yes” to. Yet it also means experiencing the freedom that most others will never enjoy. Spiritual disciplines teach us that limitations are good because of our sin and pride. Be comforted if God disciplines you. It’s a sign of His love. Wilderness experiences are full of challenges. Physical challenges give us resilience in our walk with God, and spiritual challenges such as aloneness and fear cause us to bake the dough of our un-tested beliefs into a loaf of faith-bread that we can feed the world.
5. EXAMEN
St. Ignatius coined this term to refer to a lifestyle of Christ-Centered contemplation. Examen is a habit of taking time each day to reflect and pray in order to hear God’s voice of guidance. Wilderness time helps us remember God’s faithfulness. The silence and solitude of the outdoors expose the emptiness we feel when we hide from God and it ushers in the healing balm of brokenness, honesty, and confession.
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