The heart of a man is like deep waters... Proverbs 20:5
A true adventure requires risk. And risk we must! For falling back in fear will mean losing the
emotions we were created to experience.
As men we are strongest when we can empathize with the emotions of a loved
one. Then and only then will we be
able to connect at the heart with those we care about and the God we serve.
I was first introduced to “risky faith” when I was in
college. The first time I heard
Tim Hansel talk about the need for adventure to bring personal growth it captured
my masculine heart and for the first time I began to see Jesus in a different
light. Tim said, “an encounter
with Jesus is no safe thing.
Meeting him is like running straight on into a tornado for the first
time.” It was from this man that I
first heard a quote by Helen Keller, “Life
is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” In many ways he was a forerunner to John Eldridge, who over
a decade ago began to call men back to their masculine souls. And what a stir that caused. Men from all over this country were
drawn to the “Wild at Heart” message that said,
“Adventure is written
into the heart of a man. And it’s
not just having fun. Adventure
requires something of us, it puts us to the test.” -John Eldridge-
John told us that men’s hearts have been assaulted and it
was time to recapture what it means to be a man. He challenged us to return to the adventure of living from
the heart.
Soon after hearing the adventure message in my early
twenties I discovered that the greatest adventures in life do not happen riding
the white waters of the Tuolumne or climbing a vertical granite wall in
Yosemite. For many men it is
easier to risk rappelling off of a vertical granite face or jumping from an
airplane than to risk feeling the deeper emotions of the heart. Meaningful adventure happens when we
trust God with the pain of our lives because then and only then do we discover
that He is bigger than that pain.
And then we are able to love others deeply instead of closing off and
shutting down our emotions.
As men we are called to be strong and courageous and often
toughness and strength are required to take on the day, finish strong and rise
to the present challenge. At other
times the obstacles we face are of a different nature, like overcoming the pain
of a traumatic childhood or a devastating loss of a friend to an early death. Some of us carry the wounds caused by an
angry or absent father while for others it is the rejection of a lover or the loss
of a dream. Whatever it is that
has assaulted your heart, it will not let go until you find the emotional
courage to trust God with the deepest part of your pain. Anytime we move from managing our own
pain to facing it and trusting God to take us through it, we will find
ourselves on the path to discovering a God that is much bigger, more powerful
and intimately real than we ever imagined.
