Let me preface this by stating that I did not in fact camp totally solo; my pup (Prudence) tagged along with me. However, I did take a little trip with no other humans up to a beautiful area that I am not allowed to divulge with respect to a friend that wants the location to remain anonymous so as to not attract more people to this well-kept secret oasis.
The reasoning behind my somewhat hasty decision to set out on a trip alone in the wilderness was because I felt I needed more of God’s presence in my life. I am the type that tends to feel closest to Him when I am surrounded by nature and wildlife, hence why I find myself hiking a mountain on a regular basis. Interestingly enough, I had just finished reading “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan and he talks about how he set out on a similar journey – a four-day solo camping trip just to be able to be alone with The Father.
Since I have already brought up Francis Chan, I want to discuss how God used him to speak to me on my drive to my camping spot. I happened to put on a random podcast of his where he was speaking to a group of children on Christmas Eve in 2004. He started out by talking about the earth and questioned how anyone could believe that it was created sporadically, with no actual creator; it just appeared randomly out of thin air. Based on the reaction of the kiddos, it seemed as though they agreed with this brooding belief and thought surely there had to be someone who made it all. Francis goes on to comment how the earth is proof that God exists – the beauty and majesty that we have surrounding us is a testament to the one who made it all. He said how people cannot not believe in our Heavenly Father when they are able to take a look at everything that came into synchronic harmony. The fact that we were put in an environment that we are able to survive in, the way the plants and animals all work together in seamless unity, the distance our planet is from the sun (which had it been placed just a tad closer or further it would completely obliterate humankind) – all of this points back to the fact that it all is just too ironic to not know that someone all-powerful and all-knowing was behind the creation of it all.
After I was blessed by a beautiful, remote location close to a riverbed to set up camp on my first night away, I began reading Romans 1. In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he states how because of our ability to see the world as we are able to, there is no justification for not knowing God. “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:18-20, Life Application Study Bible). This is exactly what Francis Chan had said in his sermon to the children. Once I read this passage I had an “Okay, God… I hear you,” or like my dear friend refers to it: a God wink.
For most of my adult life, I could not understand why exactly I felt like I could hear God clearer and more distinctly when out in nature, but now I see. Everything points to Him. The way the birds sing out His praise to the sunrise in the mornings and the sunset in the evenings – it is all for His glory. The “eternal power” and “divine nature” of the creator is all around us, encompassing every space of the world He so intricately and thoughtfully designed. I encourage you to take a moment to just get outside to pause and admire the beauty of His creation. Hopefully it awes you as much as it does me.
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