Hoping to catch some fall colors and breathtaking views, recently my husband and I decided we would take a trip through the Wet Mountains to see the Sange de Christo Mountain rage just west of WestCliffe, Colorado. We had been watching the weather forecast closely, as heavy clouds and rain was being predicted over most of the state, and this area seemed like our best chance at decent weather.
In the morning prior to heading out I had been once again reading Hebrews chapter 11, called by some the “Hall of Faith”, as it walks us through multiple examples of those who have gone before us. The common denominator in all of them was they had chosen to demonstrate to us the meaning of that very first verse : “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.
As we were on our way out of the city, the clouds were so heavy and low it was almost like fog in some places. Not always rain but very wet. I was constantly having to wipe the windshield. My husband said “I don’t know, honey, I’m not so sure we will get out of this.” “Well”, I said, “the weather forecast for Westcliffe was partly cloudy with only a 15% chance of moisture”.
Several times along the way, my husband continued to expressed doubts that we would be able to see anything at all. There was a certain ridge, however, on the passage over the Wet Mountains that I had become very fond of, as once crested, became a window to the entire Sange de Christo range. It was so breathtaking! My hope was that once we reached that height, we would pull out of the thick cloud cover and all would be well. To that my husband said, “perhaps, but we’ll be looking down on the clouds then and still may not see much of anything. I laughed, but began secretly to wonder if he may be right.
That was when the Lord reminded me of that first verse in Hebrews 11. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for…” The weather forecast certainly gave me hope! “…the conviction of things not seen”. I had seen previous evidence and certainly had the conviction, the belief, that the sun was shinning beyond the clouds, and was sure hoping we would pull out of those clouds sometime soon.
Then, all of the sudden, it happened at exactly the point I had predicted. BOOM, there was an abundance of blue sky and sunshine overhead as we drove right out of those clouds and left them all behind. In front of us was one of the most glorious views of those mountains I had ever seen! It had snowed on top of them the day before, a local told us later.
It was spectacular in more ways than one, as I was able to experience first hand a very practical application of what it meant to have faith. And the faith I was expressing was in the weather forecast, no doubt! But it allowed me to catch a glimmer of what faith in God Himself could really do, and for that I am grateful.
Who have you placed your faith within? What is it that you are hoping for?
Alabastersky 