a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
I have “ants in my pants.” Rebounding from a relapse and the resulting depression and physical effects, I now feel full of energy and have a desire to do something. Something that makes a difference. So what’s the problem here? It’s the commitment I made when my job ended. I said I would not go searching for opportunities unless prompted by the Lord to do so. And I’m not being prompted. As a matter of fact, I’m being un-prompted.
Be still and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10
Every time I recover from a relapse, I buy myself a small piece of inspirational jewelry; a physical reminder that I can come back to fight another day. Saturday I went out and bought a ring for this past ordeal. The ring is a Mobius shape, with the quote “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” inscribed on it. This past healing, the theme of hope has recurred for me, and I thought this quote embodied the hope that even though I have a long way to go, I will get there one step at a time. Little did I know that there would be an alternate translation when I went to look up the author of this quote:
From the quote by Chinese philosopher Laozi (c 604 BC - c 531 BC) in the Tao Te Ching, chapter 64. Although this is the popular form of this quotation, another translation from the original Chinese might be "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." Rather than emphasizing the first step, Laozi would have regarded action as something that arises naturally from stillness. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a_journey_of_a_thousand_miles_begins_with_a_single_step)
So this got me searching the scriptures for “still” and “wait” and I came up with an interesting translation: Isaiah 40:31 is something you are probably familiar with…”Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”(NKJV) But when I looked at the verse in the NIV, I found that “wait” is translated as “hope.” I’ve been told to wait, and I’ve been exhorted to hope. Little did I know that in the original Hebrew, “wait” and “hope” can both be expressed by a single word, qâvâh, which means “to bind together.” The imagery of the word is a twisting of two cords to make a single rope. How can this mean “wait” or “hope”?
If I view the two cords as being the present and the future, I begin to see this viewpoint. As our Father views events from outside of time, present and future events are inexplicably combined for Him. But for us humans, being able to perceive this binding of time is an enigma. As we begin to trust (yet another meaning of the word), we see that we can wait and hope for the future events that we know are already twisted into the events that happened yesterday and today. Knowing that our Father is Lord over time; I can see Him working in past events, I can feel Him in the present, so there is no barrier to hoping, waiting, and trusting that He will continue to be there for me in the future.
Easier said than done.
Getting through an ordeal, looking back and seeing the hand of God is one thing. Looking to the future and believing in faith that the hand will still catch us as we fall is an entirely different level of faith. But here is where I find myself, being stretched and pulled to new levels of trust, new levels of “qâvâh.”
Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and take heart
And wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14
I appreciate your thoughts on present and future being combined. I find it much easier to aspire for the future, and find in fact that "life is what happens as you are planning other things" (Lennon?). To have a perspective on God's molding the two together is a good thing, bringing both peace and expectation.
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