Lost?

Inside of every guy is a need to explore. The Discovery Channel takes exploration to the extreme in the series Man vs Wild (by the way, if you haven’t seen the Canyon Ridge Church version of this, check out this link on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q8jxE1tHzU). Every man who has ever seen Man vs. Wild is confident that he could eat elephant dung or the eye of a yak to survive.

The original Man vs. Wild was Teddy Roosevelt (my personal hero). I just finished a book about his exploration of the River of Doubt in the Amazon jungle. Bear (from Discovery’s show) doesn’t have anything on Teddy! Roosevelt and his crew of 30 plus men survived malaria, starvation, 500 pound snakes, and flesh eating Indians... all for the sake of exploring uncharted waters.

Roosevelt knew his life was at stake... but he made the journey anyway.

The book (The River if Doubt by Candice Millard) inspired me to get out and explore the wild unchartered territory of (wait for it) Emmett, ID! I know... I know... Emmett doesn’t come to mind when people think danger and exploration, but I needed to see some place I’d never been before.

Last Sunday, I jumped on my motorcycle to have a closer look at the hills I can see 20 miles north of my home in Boise. On my journey, I “discovered” something unexpected. Just before you get into Emmett is a September, 11 memorial overlooking the valley where Emmett rests (you should take a drive to see it if you haven’t yet).

My need to explore was satisfied... but not everyone is as fortunate.

I know people who think God is hiding from them. Usually in painful times, the question, “Where is God in all of this?” surfaces. When everything in life seems to be falling apart, we want God to show up.

Should we keep looking for God when things don’t make sense?

Sometimes, life doesn’t work out the way we want it to... and not all endings are happy. However, the Bible encourages us to keep looking... because God promises to reveal Himself. He may not make every problem in your life disappear... He may not give you a million dollars.... He might not make an illness go away... or He might.

The point in searching for God is the journey. He is good. He does have more for us than this life. In the end, your discovery of God will be worth it all.

Dreaming is fun -- daydreaming especially. It energizes me to think about possibilities and life changing ideas. People like me are always looking for the next “big thing.” Some people are scared to leave the status quo, but dreamers are eager to find something new and adventurous.

Maybe I’m the product of too many Disney movies (a thought that gives me the cold sweats!). He said, “All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them.” No offense Walt... I think you need to step away from the Pixie Dust for just a moment...

I’m going to take a sharp turn in another direction. Let the next statement soak in before you go any farther...

Dreams can kill you.

Go back and read that again.

Wait... what about all that stuff we’ve heard about the importance of dreams and “wishing upon a star”? In fact, lots of Christian authors like to quote a famous proverb, “Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18).” No arguments here about trying to catch a vision from God, unless...

I came across an interesting thought in a book by Mark Batterson that caught me off guard:

“If God gives you a dream, and the dream comes to life and God shows up in it, and then the dream dies, it may be that God wants to see what is more important to you -- the dream or him.”

At first glance, everyone will say, “Of course God is more important to me!” Really? Think about the shattered dreams in your life. The first person I turn my back on when my dreams fall apart is God. Some never recover and leave Him completely.

I don’t happen to believe God maliciously robs us of our dreams and says -- “There... now be happy!” I don’t pretend to know all of the reasons why God does things, but I trust that God is good. He has my best interest at heart.

If you ever want to gain more of a handle on finding meaning in suffering, read one of the all-time best selling books on the subject, Man’s Search for Meaning. Viktor Frankl wrote it AFTER enduring three years in a Nazi concentration camp in World War II.

Even after all of his dreams were stripped away (along with his dignity and humanity), Frankl discovered that God is really all we have... and He is enough.