Dave Dishman

It’s hard to escape the jumble of items pulling at my attention every day. Here are a few: health, exercise, food, diet, budgets, money, savings, house, repairs, yard, garden, squirrels, vehicles, maintenance, traffic, politics, taxes, news, social media, silly videos, apps, phone, laptop, television, sports, office work, forms, emails, texts, calls, groceries, checkout lanes, sales, meals, clothes, closets, shoes, socks…need I go on?

All the items on my list are necessary (maybe not watching silly videos), yet still transient. Important for a moment, then fading away. This week on the Camino de Santiago I’m attempting to walk away from many of those drags on my mind.

The Apostle Paul shared his perspective on the things competing for our energy: We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

The eternal surrounds me, but it’s hard to notice in my day to day. The beauty of the Camino pulls my thoughts away from myself towards something greater. Three things last forever—God, his Word, and the souls of men and women. When I give energy in that direction, I invest in the hidden and influence the eternal. My soul slows, grows less frenetic, and as I walk I enjoy the goodness of the unseen.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Photo by Max Kukurudziak

This week my wife and I will lead a group on the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. This is our ninth time to take part in the ancient pilgrimage to the resting place of Saint James. We don’t walk alone. Thousands of pilgrims travel this path every year. Some for the adventure, some to honor a loved one, and many to connect with the Lord.

The Camino forms a mysterious, thin place in our world, where the Spirit hovers due to the fact that seekers hiked this trail for over a thousand years in a quest to find God. Some leave fulfilled, others frustrated, but all leave an impression with their prayers and yearnings. People from all over the world make their way here. I’m reminded of this line from the prophet Habakkuk:

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

I’ve met Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australians, North and South Americans on the trail, truly a global consortium. The earth fills with those who believe that God exists, others who pray that God exists, and still more skeptical that God exists at all. Amazingly, you meet all three types on the Camino. Pray for pilgrims here in Spain, and for those next door. Join me in praying that all of us may personally experience more and more of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

Habakkuk 2:14

Photo: La Fuente del Peregrino, a hostel dedicated to helping pilgrims find God.

But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

A person who trembles at God’s word takes the Scriptures seriously. Isaiah wrote to a nation ignoring the ways of the Lord, cavorting with demonic entities and offering their children alive to the fires of wicked gods. Yet some in the midst of this falling away listened. Bowels loosened and knees weakened at words of impending disaster. While most saw only a crazed prophet blathering in the street, others heard the voice of God.

Many today view the Holy Scriptures as a book of myths, or a set of writings that squelch freedoms, or simply the blathering of long dead prophets. But others see them for what they are—words from God. A deferential approach allows the Holy Spirit to illuminate these texts. The more one respectively opens the Bible, the more a person learns about our magnificent God and his love for us.

God looks with favor on the man or woman who approaches his word with a humble heart. Taking a clear-eyed view of the stories and teachings of Scripture leaves you weak at the knees. The Bible is a serious book for challenging times—just like those we live in today.

Isaiah 66:2

Photo by Aaron Burden

When my sons and daughter graduated from college I honored them with a gift—a sword from Toledo, Spain. For hundreds of years Spanish steel was considered the best in the world for weaponry. On each sword I had a verse engraved that I felt was appropriate for the receiver. On my son’s swords I used the same lines from 1 Corinthians:

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

Paul’s words to a struggling church create a seal of approval to pray over young followers of Jesus, especially young men. Our society encourages men to make some money, play video games, bet on sports, and party on the weekend. Yet men are created for so much more. We’re to stay attentive and alert to the world around us, remain solid in the faith, and take care of others. It’s good to be strong, just do so with love.

Here’s powerful blessing for those younger in the faith. Engrave it on steel, carve it in wood, or tattoo it across your chest. No matter what it takes, fix it in the hearts of our sons and daughters.

I Corinthians 16:13-14

Photo by Chris Linnett