The Divine Adventure

Photo by Pete Nowicki on Unsplash

People seeking wilderness adventures usually entrust themselves to an experienced guide, whether they are kayaking on Class V rapids, climbing Mount Everest, or hiking in the Amazon. Although we may never have pictured God as an adventure guide, Scripture is filled with stories of people who “plunged themselves into the divine adventure,” as Chiara Lubich put it:

• Abraham laid out a ritual offering per God’s instructions and watched in amazement as a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the carcasses

• The Israelites were led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as they fled Egypt, and they were provided with water flowing from a rock and bread in the form of hoarfrost

• A widow at Zarephath fed the prophet Ezekiel the last of her provisions during a famine and found that her jar of flour and jug of oil never ran dry

• Mary of Nazareth agreed to bear God’s son and was offered protection of Joseph, who followed the advice of angels who visited him in his dreams

Those of us who are adverse to risk might well be reluctant to choose God as our guide, for to do so seems to mean that we should expect the unexpected. However, a common thread in the lives of those who do place their trust in God is that they are led to new life, whether that means a new home, a new occupation, sustenance in hard times, or the gift of a child.

When Chiara Lubich plunged into the divine adventure in the midst of World War II, she was led to start a movement called “the Focolare” (meaning “hearth”) that promoted unity, reconciliation and the spirit of love and fostered the spirit of renewal that took shape in Vatican II. As noted in the March 2022 issue of Give Us This Day, the movement was “based in small communities of both married families and single people and eventually spread to 180 countries, promoting a unity across all borders of religion, race, and nation.” When we place ourselves in the hands of our divine adventure guide, there is no telling where we will be led, but we can trust that we will find ourselves in a place of abundance and blessing.