The way, the truth and the life

I remember mentioning in one of my previous posts that I got some insights about the way, the truth and the light which night-walking through the jungle in Bukit Cherakah in the mid January. While I was enjoying the night-view of God's creations, here are a few points that came to my mind on the trail.

The Way
In the dark, everything appears more dangerous than it really is. On our night-walk, all participants were asked to dress in dark navy and no lights of any kind were permitted. The only light was the star-lit sky, and the only thing we could really see was probably each other's shoes, if it was white. Up to now, I do not know who was the kind boy in front of me who held my hand evey now and then to guide me up the diffult paths. Coming back to darkness, the paths looked really dangerous and every step seemed to be a huge risks. Our guides in front warned us in advance to keep to the left or to the right, to avoid falling into the deep lake. Back then, it looked as if with one wrong move, I would drown for sure! (being a non-swimmer). Well, it's true that the paths were rather adventurous and could cause harm if we side-tracked, but it sure wasn't THAT dangerous, in the morning light. Apparently, we had ample space to keep safe. All I needed to do was to follow the right way, and I would be safe.

That's the way with life too. As I looked back into my past, I realized that there were many times that I allowed darkness to trick me into believing the hopelessness of my situations, instead of seeing in the light. Now, when I look at it in the light, with God as my guide, it wasn't THAT bad after all. All I needed was to follow the Way.

Sometimes, the truth is to trust
During the night walk, I learnt the meaning of trust in a more practical way. Some of the paths were really steep and slippery, but our leader in front warned us before we reached. I listened to the leader's voice and took his words for it. I also learned to trust the stranger (team-mate) in front of me for it was the only choice I had. For some reason or other, in my personal life, I have always tried to rely on myself for experience has taught me not to place my trust in man (although also I do strongly believe in teamwork). However, in the dark, all of us needed one another. When the paths got really slippery and we were in the swamp up to our waist, to my rescue, the Malay guy in front of me would hold my hand and say, " I think you need help,"and all 4o of us, as pairs, would make it through together as a team. At one spot, a huge tree trunk was in the way, and my legs weren't long enough to climb over it. Once again, the I heard the familiar phrase, "I think you need help" and he carried me safely to the other side. Even as I was going through this whole journey, I felt convicted in my heart for not fully taking Christ at his Word, which never changes, at various points in my life. Jesus is the Shepherd that guides us and we hear His voice. He is the Truth, but I felt ashamed at being able to fully trust the words of a human, but not my Saviour, and I apologized to God.

The Light
Every once in a while on the trail, the guide from the jungle (if he passes by) would shine his bright torch across the surrounding area for a few brief moments to give us a rough idea of where we might be. Along the path, I was also captivated by the beautiful fireflies and other lumminant leaves (or insects, i don't know) which made the look like it was simply glowing in the dark. However, in advance, the forest guide had already warned us not to touch or follow anything that attracted us in any way. It could be dangerous, the said. We were also warned not to heed any 'unknown voices' or speak to 'unknown people' if we encountered such on our way, for such situations had resulted in people getting lost in the past. We could, however trust the starlight in the skies and and lights of our guide's torch, which guaranteed credibility.

It's the same with life, isn't it? Not all that glitters is gold. Evil does not necessarily only take the form of darkness. Deception can be involved, but the true Light will reveal all deception and lead the way.

More than just a walk
All in all, the night-walk through the Cherakah woods left me feeling great when we finally found our way out around 2 in the wee hours of the morning. I felt stronger and more confident about my physical strength to go through the woods in the dark, for several hours, and the risks that surrounded it. A closeness with my team-mates also began to develop. But best of all, I felt that as I walked, Jesus was holding my hand by my side.

Take care and have a nice day! God bless you:)