I hiked a huge volcano, the third tallest in Central America! (P.S. The smoking volcano is called Fuego and it erupts frequently!)

There is a volcano near Antigua, Guatemala, that is 3,976 meters high (about 13,041 feet). It's called Acatenango! It can be hiked over two days - one day to hike up, camping for the night about an hour or hour and a half from the summit, climb the summit early the next morning, and then descend after summitting.

We had to carry all our food, water, tent supplies, and warm clothes for the summit. 

At first, I decided I would do the hike simply because I knew I would regret not doing it. That sentiment carried me over to the beginning of the week before the hike was planned. Then, one day, I started to get extremely nervous and stressed out about it and whether I should do it or not. I don't love hiking, and I knew it would be insanely difficult. After dealing with this indecision for the day, I realized I needed to take it to God and see what He thought about it.

After spending time in prayer, I realized that God would still be just as proud of me if I didn't do the volcano. However, if I chose to do it, the hike would be a big opportunity for growth in humility and vulnerability. And, the Lord would be my strength - Him and Him alone. If He said I could do it, I knew I could do it. And, if He was capable of giving me divine joy for ministry, I knew He was capable of giving me divine joy for this obstacle.

I had to realize that as much as I needed to physically prepare, I also needed to spiritually prepare.

Entering the hike with that mindset was the best thing I could have done. Knowing the Lord said I was capable through Him, I never doubted that I would be able to make it through. As hard as it was, I had His Spirit to guide me, and His Word to comfort me.

And in the end, despite the difficulty, it was so worth it.

The beauty of God's creation is incredible, and I saw so much during this hike. The volcano itself was so awe-inspiring. The same God who created me so intimately also created this scary masterpiece. Wow, what a Creator we worship.

So, to wrap it up, are you spiritually preparing for your physical obstacles? When God is on our side, we will never fail. He has so much goodness He wants to speak over us, if we'll only listen.