Heavenly Hinds’ Feet

The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds' feet and will make me to walk… upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!

Habakkuk 3:19 AMPC

When I was growing up, my family had a copy of Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. I still remember flipping through the childhood illustrations of a crippled girl named Much Afraid, her nemesis Craven Fear, and the kind Shephard Who called her to journey with Him to the distant mountains. If only I’d know then how accurately her journey would reflect my own over the years!

As Much Afraid begins her ascent into the mountains, the Shephard gives her two companions named Sorrow and Suffering to assist her in her journey. At first, Much Afraid winces with pain every time she has to hold her helpers’ hands, but over time, the pain of their grasp slowly lessens. At the end of the journey, the Shephard gives all three of them new names: Much Afraid becomes Grace and Glory, and Sorrow and Suffering transform into Joy and Peace.

The real reason Much Afraid needs Sorrow and Suffering in the first place is because of her crippled feet. But as she slowly limps toward the mountains with her two companions… her feet begin to change too. By the time the Shephard gives Much Afraid her new name at the end of the story, her feet have grown strong and sturdy like hinds’ feet so that she can bound easily across the mountain tops with Him.

Our Shephard does the same thing with the crippled areas in our own lives, too. Even though we wish He would just snap His fingers and heal us… He doesn’t usually work that way. He knows the value of holding Sorrow and Suffering’s hands over time. He knows the joy and peace that can only be unlocked through that slow, painful process. And he knows that the end result WILL be worth it one day when we finally trade our crippled feet for hinds’ feet and bound with Him across heaven’s mountain tops.  

Hannah