“Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You”

This particular stanza helped me through a time of testing this past weekend.

Just about a week ago, a friend suggested we should go on a hike. She had already done part of the hike before and told us the hike can get a little intense.

Since I grew up in New England and have climbed Mt. Monadnock, I thought surely it can’t be harder than a mountain, right?!

Haha…I don’t know what I was thinking!

The beginning of the climb was mostly flat and we came to a beautiful overlook that simply took our breath away. It was so beautiful that I would have been satisfied with ending the hike there and simply turning around, but after driving over an hour to get there, we pressed on.

The further we hiked, the more strenuous the climb became. Parts of it were just climbing from rock to rock.

Around lunchtime, we hiked off the path to a small waterfall. When we began our climb back up, I all of a sudden looked up and a few feet away from me was a rattlesnake. I immediately backed away. God definitely had His hand on the snake.

Just over three miles from the finish, the rocky incline was getting to be too much for me. I had to keep stopping every few yards to catch my breath. I was completely out of my water supply.

Thankfully, a couple came by with water. I let pride out of the window and asked if they had any extra water. They were so kind and another example of God’s provision.

I started guzzling down the water, as I made my way the next three miles by myself.

Even though I didn’t enjoy being by myself for three miles, I kept thinking I’m not alone, God is with me, this is the perfect time to talk with Him.

Although it was hard to keep up an audible conversation, I started singing “Lord, I Need You”. I could only remember the stanza above, but that was enough.

Even though I may still be sore, I am constantly reminding myself of how God protected and provided.

For a moment, I was seriously considering giving up. I didn’t know how much longer my body would take me and yet, a lady pointed several feet away from me and said “that’s the top, it’s flat from there.”

The moment the lady told me how close I was to the top, I felt so silly and thought of how we may think of giving up and yet we are so close to the top of a mountain in our life. (Whether literally or figuratively)

God will provide the strength needed to make it to the top.

He certainly provided for my friends and I this past weekend.

We don’t have to fret. He is always watching over us. If we look around, we will see many instances of His provision.

How has God been protecting and providing for you lately?