My son and I went backpacking in Yosemite this week for three days. Wow, what a nature fix. Beauty permeated my being from every angle-from the breathtaking scenery to the soothing bullfrog sounds at night, and cold river water to soothe my swollen knee.

I especially loved the valley hike on the first day from El Cap meadow to the village (probably because I had no pack weight to lug around).

Now, I’m not complaining since I only carried my clothes, snacks and water plus my Big Agnus sleeping mat. He carried the brunt of the weight including the bear canister, both our tents and sleeping bags plus all his fly fishing gear.

To make one astute observation, I’m not as strong as I once was when I started backpacking in my 30’s. In fact, psychologically I found that I was a bit more fearful. Yes, even my tough upbringing from the Upper Peninsula of MI did not make me feel comfortable when I was left alone to patrol the campsite for three hours at mid-day.

Every sound and imagined sound had me pacing the perimeter and ensuring I had my “bear proof” titanium dishes with me to clang together when needed. I did not say “if “ but “when”, after our experience in Tahoe a few weeks earlier when a bear trotted up to our site while we were eating dinner.

Just to put your mind at rest, I only saw a beautifully curious doe who made me realize my tent was set up on a “game trail” running to the creek. After flipping her ears toward me several times, she gave up her attempt for water because I was standing my ground.

During the long night, all my “imagined” forest companions kept creeping into my mind: starting with a mountain lion, punctuated by a skunk and a cougar, ending with the infamous bear. My son reminded me the next day of the song we used to sing when the kids all lived at home, “The voice of truth” by Casting Crowns.

Yes, I had a case of listening to the voice of fear vs. the voice of truth and it stole my joy for a good part of Day 2 of our trip. It is impossible to enjoy beauty when fear is prevailing.

The Bible passages today were such a beautiful reminder of how much I forget (like Israel) to see the promises of God. He chose a Savior for us (Jesus Christ his Son). He bought us back from sin’s curse (aka redemption) and he promised to make us part of the kingdom of Heaven (as his workmanship), even while we are on this earth. Why is this comforting?

It’s easy to stay fearful of the future especially when so much sin and deception is being touted in our world. The comfort is that when Christ made all things new, he took care of all sin, not just from the past and present but also into the future. That’s amazing!! Not only has God already seen the extent of the problem but His solution has already been applied, being more than enough.

The exhortation is: don’t allow fear to rob us of our joy, because the truth about God’s forgiveness is greater. We may need to extend this forgiveness to people in our present circumstances. But when we remember beyond a doubt that His presence is around us, our senses are free to experience beauty. -Teresa #sinbringsdeath #gracebringslife

Isaiah 42 and 43:1-3a (ESV)* (bold added for emphasis)

42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
² He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
³ a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
⁴ He will not grow faint or be discouraged^[c]
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.

⁵ Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶ “I am the Lord; I have called you^[d] in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
⁷ to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
⁸ I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”

Sing to the Lord a New Song

¹⁰ Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
the coastlands and their inhabitants.
¹¹ Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,
the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,
let them shout from the top of the mountains.
¹² Let them give glory to the Lord,
and declare his praise in the coastlands.
¹³ The Lord goes out like a mighty man,
like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
he shows himself mighty against his foes.

¹⁴ For a long time I have held my peace;
I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labor;
I will gasp and pant.
¹⁵ I will lay waste mountains and hills,
and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into islands,^[e]
and dry up the pools.
¹⁶ And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them.
¹⁷ They are turned back and utterly put to shame,
who trust in carved idols,
who say to metal images,
“You are our gods.”

Israel’s Failure to Hear and See

¹⁸ Hear, you deaf,
and look, you blind, that you may see!
¹⁹ Who is blind but my servant,
or deaf as my messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as my dedicated one,^[f]
or blind as the servant of the Lord?
²⁰ He sees many things, but does not observe them;
his ears are open, but he does not hear.
²¹ The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake,
to magnify his law and make it glorious.
²² But this is a people plundered and looted;
they are all of them trapped in holes
and hidden in prisons;
they have become plunder with none to rescue,
spoil with none to say, “Restore!”
²³ Who among you will give ear to this,
will attend and listen for the time to come?
²⁴ Who gave up Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk,
and whose law they would not obey?
²⁵ So he poured on him the heat of his anger
and the might of battle;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Ephesians 2:4-10*

^]4 But^[c]God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

*OneyearBibleonline

**pexels-miftah-rafli-hidayat-4869063.jpg