I met him on an informational walk on the Foothills Trail. He had thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.
Meeting and talking with a thru-hiker was exciting. As he talked about his adventure, he related the one and only time he had to leave the trail. He had come upon a trail shelter where trail angels left fresh fruit in a nearby stream. Without thinking, he lunged into an apple without washing it off. He soon found himself suffering with giardia from bacteria in the water and sidelined from the trail for a few days of misery.
I’ve never drank unfiltered water from creeks, lakes, or streams without filtering it first. Spending the money required for a dependable filtering source is worth the effort as well as is making sure the filter is replaced or cleaned regularly.
Filtering life’s experiences isn’t quite as easy as filtering water. With water, all I must do is place the filter in the water source and pump. What comes into my drinking canister is at least 99% pure. The chances I’ll be infected are slim. Not so with filtering life. Life’s experiences vary in intensity and probability, and advice on how to face them is plentiful.
The psalmist ended everything he stated about God with the refrain, “His (God’s) faithful love endures forever.” This is my dependable filtering system. Whatever comes my way, I can rest assured God’s faithful love for me endures forever.
God’s love isn’t filtered through our behavior. If it was, most wouldn’t experience it regularly. His love is filtered through His nature—which is love. While His nature also encompasses holiness—which can involve His divine wrath, His nature is to love His creations, both good and bad.
God’s Word is the only reliable filtering source. Other sources may or may not allow in bacteria that could taint how I respond to a particular life experience. As the psalmist used God’s revealed Word throughout his life journey to filter his experiences, so we too can find there a source of instruction and encouragement to help us filter life. When filtered through God’s Word, unpleasant life experiences will lose the potential to infect us with bitterness, anger, confusion, unbelief, and doubt.
Change your perspective on life experiences by filtering them through God’s Word.
Prayer: Father, when difficulties come our way, lead us to filter them through the teachings of Your Word.
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