40 Miles

This summer my family spent a week enjoying the beauty of Yellowstone National Park. One particular day we were driving into the park and passed by the sign above. As we did, my parents started talking about the story of Chief Joseph, which I'm sure made my ears start to fill with white noise as I'm typically not much of a history buff. This story, however, captured my attention in a whole different light.

Basically the story of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Indians in a nutshell goes like this: In a land treaty broken by the US Government, the Nez Perce Indians were forced out of their homeland in the Wallowa Valley and forced to relocate to Idaho. In the midst of the journey, 3 young warriors who were enraged by the loss of their homeland, massacred a band of white settlers. Chief Joseph hearing of this and fearing retaliation, began fleeing north to Canada for safety with another Nez Perce tribe across the border.

For three months they traveled more than 1,000 miles on foot in challenging conditions, battling more than 2,000 US Soldiers along the way. Finally, defeat was upon them. They were exhausted and Chief Joseph declared he would fight no more, forever. Little did they know that day, at that moment, in that place...they were only 40 miles from the Canadian border.

In our own lives there are seasons that are more challenging than others. There are times when you may feel like you're facing one battle after the next after the next. Or maybe you're just in a season of feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you're in a place where you are down to your last drop of hope. Maybe the idea of giving up rather than fighting through seems like the only logical choice.

In those times, lean in to Him.
"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track." Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG

His timing is perfect and never comes a moment too soon or a second too late. Keep pressing forward, keep trusting His plan. Don't lose hope.

Because you just never know when you might be 40 miles from Canada.