Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

The closer the hiker gets to the forest of fear, the darker the path becomes. Before the village, the path is much lighter. But at the entrance to the forest, it becomes increasingly darker.

So there are bright moments in Christian life, such as encouraging Sabbaths with a blessed church service and a beautiful community. But often this glorious Sabbath blessing evaporates all too quickly. This is also the case in this picture.

Be strong and courageous!

The hiker notices that it is getting darker and darker. He can feel the temperature dropping. He shivers slightly. Before entering the forest, he reads the sign on the left: „Be strong and brave! I am with you!“

This is a promise from the Bible. It is in Psalm 27:14 (New Life).

Trust in the LORD! Be courageous and brave and hope patiently in the LORD!

This verse has a special meaning for me personally. I once painted this text and gave it to a dear brother who was close to death. This verse gave him a lot of strength and hope in the last phase of his life.

I've never been on the brink of death myself, but I can imagine that it can be really scary. It's a step into the unknown, even though as Christians we have the hope of resurrection. But I believe that faith is tested one last time when we die. God's promises help us with this. Even in the face of death, we can bravely and patiently trust in God. This is what the brother did. His life was secure in God. He clung to this promise and emerged victorious!

With these thoughts in mind, I chose this text as an encouragement for the wanderer in the forest of fear.

In the forest of fear

Our wanderer now enters the forest. From the cross to the entrance to the forest, the light from the heavenly Jerusalem had always shone. This encouraged the hiker and warmed his heart. But not a single ray of sunlight penetrated through the dense trees down to the path. The hiker was robbed of any glimmer of hope. His vision is limited. He finds himself in a dark green hell. The path is only faintly visible.

It takes a while for the hiker's eyes to adjust to the darkness. Gradually, he can make out a little more. He looks around. He was surrounded by tall conifers. They stood close together. What the hiker can make out of the forest floor in the darkness does not look very encouraging. Dead trees and branches lay scattered around. At one point, the hiker thought he saw something like the skeleton of a human being. Life is truly impossible in this darkness! The ground is barren and empty. Not even moss grows here.

As the hiker makes his way through the forest, the dry needles crunch under his feet. Wisps of mist float over the ground, making it even more difficult to see the path. The forest is cold and damp. The cold gets into the hiker's bones. They begin to freeze. The atmosphere is haunting. The wind somewhere outside the forest moves the branches of the trees, making them crack and creak. It sounds as if the forest is moving slowly like an old giant.

Suddenly there is a howl like that of wolves. The hiker flinches, startled. He tries to find out where the howling is coming from. But then it is over again. Slowly and carefully, the hiker feels his way forward. The path is uneven, full of roots from the large trees. He often stumbles over the roots. Once he falls so hard that he scrapes his hands and knees. He feels warm blood running down his legs.

And there it was again! The wolves howled again. This time it sounds much closer than the first time. A shiver of cold runs down the hiker's spine. His hands and feet begin to tremble. He just wants to get out of the forest! He tries to move even faster. But his wobbly legs no longer obey him. He keeps stumbling over the rough roots. All his bones are already aching. Every fall slows him down. Every step becomes increasingly difficult. And then there is this all-encompassing darkness! It weighs heavily on his mind and makes progress considerably more difficult. The howling of the wolves gets closer and closer. Would he ever get out of this forest? How much further was there to go? What would he do if the wolves caught up with him?

He has no weapons with him - nothing that could have served his defense. In the darkness, the hiker searches for a stronger branch that could have served him as a walking stick and possibly also as a weapon of defense. But all the branches lying on the ground are so brittle that they break at the slightest strain.

The deeper the hiker goes into the forest, the darker it gets. The path is very winding and goes steadily uphill. As time goes on, it becomes increasingly difficult to recognize it at all. The path becomes unrecognizable due to the large roots of the trees. After a seemingly endless march through the forest, the hiker's path is blocked by a large fallen tree. The hiker is taken aback. Somehow it looked familiar. He takes a closer look at the tree. This couldn't be true! He had passed this very tree quite a while ago! Slowly it dawns on him: he had been walking in circles. He had lost his way. He is overcome by hopelessness and even greater fear.

Fear of death

But that's not all! The hiker suddenly flinches when he hears a rustling right next to him. He looks in the direction from which the rustling came and looks straight into two yellow eyes! The wolves have found him! Now it was over. He was all alone in this forest. He was wounded and weakened by the many falls. Without a weapon, he was hopelessly at the mercy of the wolves. The wolves certainly smelled his blood and sensed his fear. Naked panic gripped the wanderer. Was there no way out?

Having reached the end of his tether, he sent up a prayer to the heavens. The New Jerusalem now seemed light years away. The encouraging experience in the church also felt like a long-forgotten dream. But then the wanderer remembered the text in Psalm 27:14.

God knew that he would get into trouble. But God had promised to be with him. He could not see or feel God. All his senses told him that he was lost in this forest. It was indeed a God-forsaken place! Could God really penetrate this darkness and help him here? The wanderer thought of his wounds, his weakness and his unbelief. He did not deserve God's help. Why should God help him? Had God perhaps abandoned him? He was not worthy of God's protection and care. Would God leave him here to die?

The wanderer repeated the verse: „Be brave and courageous! Hope patiently in the Lord!“

Exhausted and completely helpless, the wanderer falls to his knees and begs God to save him. He confesses to God his absolute helplessness and his weak faith. In his great distress, he clings to God. God answers such prayers immediately. He would rather move the whole of heaven than abandon one of his children to the enemy.

The rescue

When the hiker has finished his prayer and thanked God for his salvation, he looks up. Many pairs of yellow eyes are now focused on him. He hears the growling of the wolves. Yes, he can almost feel the hot breath of the animals. The wolves are about to pounce. The wanderer lowers his gaze in anticipation of imminent death, his heart pounding in his throat. What would it be like to die? But just as he is expecting death, the bright light of the midday sun breaks through the dense trees. Bright, glistening light illuminates the wanderer. The wolves retreat in fright. When the hiker looks up, he is initially blinded by the bright light. But then he recognizes an angel with a sword in his hand in the light. At the sight of this mighty angel, the wanderer is again overcome with fear and collapses helplessly. His remaining strength leaves him. The angel bends over the helpless, weak figure.

„Do not be afraid!“ says the angel in the most melodious tones the wanderer has ever heard. The angel gently touches him. The hiker immediately feels strength returning to his limp limbs. He sits up. The angel hands him something that looks like bread.

„This is manna, the bread of heaven. The food of the angels. Eat of it. It will strengthen you for the rest of the way.“ The hiker takes it and bites into it. The bread tastes wonderfully juicy and sweet. It is the most wonderful thing he has ever eaten. The angel hands him a bottle of water. „This is the water of life. Drink plenty of it. Do not skimp. You will soon come to the fountain of life. Refill the bottle there so that you have enough to drink until the end of your journey.“ The hiker gratefully accepts the bottle. Only now does he realize how thirsty he is. So he takes a few hearty sips of this delicious refreshment. He realizes that just a few sips are enough to quench his burning thirst. The wanderer thanks the angel.

But the angel has something else for him. He gives the hiker a flashlight. „It will help you not to stray from the path again. You've already made it most of the way through the forest. Pay careful attention to the path and don't let anything distract or frighten you. This forest is dangerous and has already cost the lives of many a careless pilgrim.“ With these words, the angel disappeared again and the wanderer was left alone in the darkness. He stands up. As he stands, he notices that the pain has disappeared. He feels his knees and hands. But there is no more blood and no wound to be felt. The angel had healed him!

The hiker eats a little more of the bread and drinks some of the water. Then he continues on his way through the forest. The flashlight helps him to recognize the tree roots. Now he no longer stumbles. He can also see the path much better. He makes much faster progress. He can still hear the wolves howling, sending shivers down his spine. But he remembers the angel's exhilaration and hurries on his way. He sings songs of praise. These turn the focus away from his fears and towards God, who is a mighty savior.

The will-o'-the-wisp

After a while, a light appears in front of him. This light illuminates a path that looks much smoother and more comfortable. When the hiker takes a closer look, he realizes that he is standing in front of a fork in the road. The path he is walking on looks more dangerous and darker. It leads steeply uphill, while the other path looks light and straight.

For a moment, the wanderer is tempted to choose the seemingly easier path. But then he remembers the angel's admonition that under no circumstances should he allow himself to be led astray from the right path!

What he sees before him is a will-o'-the-wisp! This light and this path certainly lead to death.

So the hiker trudges on along his steep, root-strewn path.

Light!

The path continues uphill for quite a while. This costs the hiker a lot of energy. He is out of breath. But he doesn't dare to stop and catch his breath. He bravely carries on.

Suddenly the path in front of him becomes lighter. The gradient eases. The trees become lighter and lighter. Sunlight now filters through the crowns. The cold and fog disappear.

And then the hiker has made it! He has left the forest! Suddenly he is standing in the sun. After the long period of darkness in the forest, his eyes first have to get used to the light.

The hiker falls to his knees and thanks God that he has led him out of the forest of fear alive. Not much was missing and the wanderer would have lost his life. But God sent his angel at exactly the right moment!

What we can learn from this

The hiker could have gotten through the forest of fear much more easily. In church, he had studied the Bible on how to face the challenges of the path. The theory was clear to him. But he did not put it into practice.

He entered the forest unprepared. Perhaps he also thought that he would get through the forest under his own steam. But he failed. He tried for a long time to stay on the right path himself. But he was not up to the challenge. He focused on the problems. He only saw the dangers. Only when he no longer knew what to do himself did he seek help from God.

If he had asked for God's help before entering the forest, the angel would have provided him with food, drink and light right from the start. He would have gotten through the forest much more quickly and safely without having to endure so many fears.

We are often like that. We are well versed in theory. But what happens when our faith is tested? What happens when we find ourselves in situations where we lose control and become afraid?

We often try to fight the problems ourselves. But in doing so, we lose ourselves more and more in fear and only make things worse. Focusing on fears and worries robs us of our faith. They can have such a firm grip on us that it seems we can no longer be free of them.

It is not so easy to look away from our fears. We are hypnotized by them like a snake. But God's promises break the power of fear.

Whether it's fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of loss or fear of the future. All of these things turn our gaze from God to ourselves and our circumstances. It is fundamentally selfish. These fears keep us trapped and we can't find a way out of ourselves.

But God can set us free. If we claim his promises, study his word and think about him, then we can conquer our fears.

Don't think about your fears! As soon as fears arise, keep an encouraging Bible text in mind. The Bible is full of them! In the Luther Bible, God says 73 times: „Do not be afraid!“ This also applies to you! When God says something, it happens, because his word is alive. When God says: „Don't be afraid!“ then fear disappears at that very moment if we let go of it. However, this requires a bit of trust and faith that this is really the case.

Singing songs of praise is also a wonderful instant cure for anxiety. It may feel strange at first, but after a while they fill the heart with hope and confidence.

There is also no reason to be afraid. If God is on our side and for us, who can be against us?

We always become afraid when we lose sight of God, trust our own strength and mistrust God.

But do you realize that we make God sad through our unbelief?

Fears are a sign of mistrust towards God. We doubt that he really means well with us and is willing and able to provide for all our needs.

It is not easy to overcome fears. But in the end, they hold us captive. They limit ourselves and our usefulness to God.

From my own experience, I can say that fears can be overcome. You can make a decision to no longer allow yourself to be dominated by them. But to experience true liberation, you have to surrender completely to God. Your whole life must be 100% consecrated to him. You have to keep reminding yourself that you cannot do anything of your own accord, but that you are completely dependent on God in all things.

Ultimately, we hand over responsibility for our lives to God. He is therefore responsible for the consequences. If we always stay by his side, he will take care of everything else. Fears are therefore superfluous.

My wish and prayer is that we all experience this complete surrender and the rest in God that comes with it. Then even death can no longer frighten us!

Here it goes on: The first fork in the road!