KNOWING
THE TERRAIN
Topics: Guidance; Jesus Christ; Leading of the Holy Spirit
References: Exodus 13:21–22; Psalm 23:1–3; John 10:11–18
Bob, my father-in-law, hunts deer every fall in the mountains of California. A number of farmers and ranchers in the area are willing to let individuals or small groups hunt on their property—if the hunters ask permission and show respect for the land.
Last year my father-in-law asked if he might drive through a certain gate and do some hunting in the evening. The rancher gave Bob a thoughtful look and said, “Yeah, you can come on the land. But you’d better let me ride with you in the truck for a while. I want to show you some things.”
Bob could have argued, but he didn’t. So the pair drove through the gate onto the ranch. They had been skimming across a wide, seemingly featureless field when the rancher suddenly said, “You’d better slow down.”
Bob pulled his foot off the accelerator. There was no deer. As far as he could see, there were no creeks, gullies, or fences. Just a wide pasture stretching out to the dusky foothills.
“Park right here,” the rancher said. “Want to show you something.”
They got out of the truck in the cool, mountain air and began walking. Then the rancher put his hand on Bob’s shoulder and said, “Look up ahead.”
My father-in-law stopped dead in his tracks. Cleaving at right angles across their path—and across the pasture as far as he could see in both directions—was a yawning, black tear in the surface of the earth. The crack was probably thirty feet across. Peering over the edge, the hair on Bob’s neck bristled. The sheer, rock-ribbed sides of the great volcanic fissure plunged to unknown depths. Cold, still air seemed to exhale from the blackness below.
Walking back to the truck, Bob marveled at how difficult it was to see the fissure from just yards away. He smiled. Having a guide wasn’t such a bad thing. He had a new appreciation for a man who knew the terrain—and where to park the truck.
—Larry Libby, No Matter What, No Matter Where (WaterBrook, 2000)