Go Forward
Some time ago in my life, I decided to not look at natural circumstances but listen to the Holy Spirit. I wanted desperately to know the mind and heart of God. Since that time I’ve had many experiences that show when God asks us to do something, no matter what circumstances seem like, there is a way forward. Let me tell you one such story. It is a true story that happened in 1993. I was in the state of Kentucky in the southern part of the USA.
One day I set out for a drive early in the morning. As was my habit, I would have no plan but would simply ask the Holy Spirit which way I should go. I was trying to learn how to hear the voice of God by asking Him to speak to me and then following exactly what He said. That day, the Holy Spirit directed me to drive down a certain country road and as I drove down this road I came upon a sign that said “Bridge Out”.
I heard God’s voice say…
Naturally, I stopped my small 4-wheel drive vehicle and began to turn around, however, just as I was about to change direction I heard God’s voice say, “Go forward.” I thought to myself, “Go forward? Why should I go forward? The bridge is out!” The voice of God said once again, “Go forward.” I said to God, “OK, if you want me to go forward, I will go forward.”
I drove perhaps one half of a mile and came upon a bridge that was under construction. As I drove to the beginning of the new bridge I could see that indeed the bridge was only half-finished and abruptly ended in the middle of a ravine. Stopping my vehicle, I looked around and thought to myself, “Now what?” As I wondered why God had led me to that place, again the voice said to me, “Go forward.” I replied, “What? Go forward? Go forward onto a half-finished bridge? Why Father? Is this really you God?” God simply stated again, “Go forward.”
Going forward slowly…
I put my vehicle in gear and slowly drove up onto the unfinished bridge. The further I went, the less I believed I was actually hearing from Him. Now I sat in the middle of the unfinished bridge and clearly seeing where the construction stopped. Halfway across the ravine, there simply was no bridge. I also clearly saw where the construction started again on the opposite side. I also saw there was at least a 25-foot drop to the bottom.
At that point, I was seriously doubting myself. I doubted my ability to hear the voice of God. After all, I was being told to drive across a ravine on an unfinished bridge! I sat for about a half an hour wondering why God had brought me there. Considering what to do, I heard the voice of God say, “Go forward.” Now I truly began to feel fearful. I felt tightness in my stomach and panic began to well up in my chest. I wondered…was I listening to God or was it all just my own mind? Or worse yet…was I listening to a demon that wanted to kill me?
Father, the bridge is out
I could clearly see that the bridge dropped off in the middle of the ravine and that if I obeyed the voice I was hearing I would surely die. Yet the voice I heard was the same voice that I always heard when God talked to me. I now doubted if I had ever heard God’s voice because of what I was being asked to do. It was a crisis a faith…
I had devoted a lot of my life to listening to what I thought was God’s voice and now that same voice was asking me to do something that would lead to certain death. I sat for a very long time in my small vehicle and wondered what I should do. It seemed like my mind was a battlefield as I struggled with my thoughts. Finally, I heard the voice say, “Get out of the truck” and so I did.
I slowly walked towards the edge of the unfinished bridge that hung over the ravine. It was at least 25 feet down to the bottom. Every step I took towards the edge seemed to only confirm what I knew to be true, there was no way forward. My mind told me I had somehow gone mad and wasn’t listening to the Holy Spirit. As I neared the end of the bridge, I looked over into the ravine and suddenly saw something that greatly surprised me. Literally, you could not see it until you came to the very edge of the unfinished bridge.
Seeing what God saw the whole time
I saw a big mound of dirt pushed up from the bottom of the ravine to just below the lip of the concrete upon which I stood. Had I not gotten out of the truck and taken a look I would never have seen it! It was very steep and there was about a foot drop off from the end of the bridge to the mound of dirt, but it looked like I could make it. I climbed back into my vehicle and put it in low gear and 4 wheel drive. Slowly I drove towards the edge of the unfinished bridge. I crept over the edge, down the pile of dirt, across the dry creek bed, and up the other side of the ravine. I did not slip or tip, but climbed up and onto the normal pavement, continuing on my way.
An important lesson
This was a very important lesson for me. I’ve thought about every time God is calling me to do something that seems impossible.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen. Many times it takes great courage and faith on our part to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. The walk of faith, especially when it contradicts our natural senses, is not easy. However, the fact is that we are all called to lead a Spirit-led life. If we truly desire to grow into the fullness and the stature of Christ, we will, figuratively speaking, be called to “drive over ravines on bridges that are not there” at some point.
It is step by step in God
Our personal journeys are step by step. God will not show us more than the next step forward. This is where trust comes in…a trust not based upon what we know but upon who we know. If you desire to follow Jesus you will come to your own impossible bridge someday. Just know that even though everything you see may seem to say otherwise, God has surely made a way forward.