He wrote a very rough draft of a book about crisscrossing the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in the winter to go with his pictures, and allowed me to review and comment on it. During his journey, he faced several death-may-be-imminent kinds of trouble. In these situations, he verbally calls out to God about his predicament. Not always using the most humble and nicest words, he’d often speak to God like more of an accusation, followed by a plea for help. And shortly after, his situation improves each time. Yet, Richard told me later he doesn’t ask God for help unless he’s stuck on the side of a mountain somewhere.
As I thought about it later, I wondered, had God instilled this drive in Richard to be in the wilderness, just so He could reveal himself to Richard when He had his undivided attention? Had God made Richard go into the wilderness to help him realize who he truly needed to rely on?
Why not. Before He walked on water, “Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida” (Mark 6:45 – my emphasis). In the evening after they had set off, Jesus watched them strain and struggle against the wind and waves on their own. Later, during the night, He walked out to them on the water (Mark 6:47-48).
The storm continued to rage when Peter decided to do something crazy, and walked into a little trouble. It wasn’t until Peter called for help that Jesus reached out His hand to him and kept him from drowning (Matthew 14:31). Which means Jesus had been standing within arm’s reach of Peter. And He has probably been standing right next to Richard all this time, answering when he calls for help, because the only time Richard asks is out in the wilderness, several days removed from anywhere or anyone else.
And The Lord is standing right next to us, ready to help when we ask, too. The question is, how far are we making Him go with us before we ask?
