My husband and I recently did a little hiking in the Shenandoah National Forest. Our hiking followed a combination of fire roads and hiking trails that were labeled “moderately strenuous.” Here’s what I noticed in comparing the roads and trails. Fire roads have been “tamed” so they can accommodate vehicles. No one would call them “good” roads, but they have been graded, there’s some width to them, and there wasn’t much along them that could trip a hiker. The fire roads moved through forest, and thus were not at all unattractive, but there was a certain monotony to them as there was little variety. The trails, however, were twisty, with many ups and downs, and strewn with rocks and tree roots that could easily cause an incautious person to trip. Sometimes you had to look around to see where the trail continued, or to figure out how to get across a muddy spot. Most of the time, we had to walk single file on the trails and we were close enough to creeks, for most of the distance, that the cheerful sound they made as they bounced down the mountain was a constant companion. When the creeks were visible, they offered a variety of scenes; waterfalls of various heights, rapids, and occasionally places with few rocks that allowed the creek to move without much visible movement or audible sound. Without a doubt, the fire roads were easier to walk, but the trails were much more fun.
The fire roads required nothing but that we continually put one foot in front of the other, while the “moderately strenuous” trails challenged us without overwhelming us. It was those very challenges that made the trails so much more interesting and fun to walk. As I was thinking about how this pertains to life, Psalm 16:11 came to mind, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” I do not believe the “path of life” will be the “path of least resistance.” A life that is too easy does not help us grow and mature, nor does it make life interesting or rewarding. I recognize that real life does not always give me a choice for how strenuous the path is, but I want to avoid making choices on the basis of how easy the path is and instead consider the path’s destination—trusting God’s grace if the path ends up being “extremely strenuous.”