Living Above The Chigger Line

T

he Boy Scouts of America organization has played a significant role in my life, teaching me so many lessons and giving me so many opportunities that I would otherwise not have had.  In addition to learning to tie a square knot, pitching a tent, knowing how to recognize both poison ivy and poison oak, and learning to pitch a tent, there have been so many more practical lessons that I have learned, and some of them the hard way!

In the spring of 1992, I learned a very valuable lesson about a little bug that can cause big problems.  In preparation for being the program director at our local summer camp, I had to attend camp school, a required certification by the BSA in order to serve in a leadership capacity at summer camp.  Due to snowy weather, I was unable to attend our local school so I had to drive to Hazelhurst, Mississippi in order to be certified.  I had never driven that far away from home and I had no idea where Hazlehurst was located. But with the help of a good map and the assistance of a fellow staff member who also had to attend, we made the journey without incident.

Like most camps, this one was located way out in the middle of nowhere.  We had to stay in tents for the entire week and sleep on cots, something I had not done since my days in the scouting program.  Everything I learned came back to me and I soon had my tent in tip-top shape.  What I forgot, however, was to apply repellent to keep nasty little critters at bay.  The first morning, this became very apparent as I awoke scratching and clawing at the myriad insect bites on my legs and feet.  Chiggers, those loathsome little creatures that bury underneath your skin, had set up housekeeping and I was the house!

Needless to say, the next week was miserable.  Chiggers are particularly active when it is hot and humid and, no matter the season, it is always humid in Mississippi and the weather had already turned warm.  I made a mental note to purchase repellent for the next time I found myself in a similar situation.

Fast forward to 1999 when again, I was employed by the Boy Scouts to serve as a chaplain at Philmont Scout Ranch in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of upper New Mexico.  As I made my checklist, I remembered to purchase a bottle of repellent. This time, I was taking no chance.  But to my surprise, I soon learned that chiggers were not a problem at Philmont because they could not survive at the elevation at which the camp was located.  You can, I’m sure, imagine my relief.  An entire summer in the great outdoors with no chiggers!!! 

So, what does this story have to do with the Christian life?  I’m so glad you asked!  No, God does not mention chiggers in the Scriptures but there are ample places where God encourages us to live at a higher elevation where the little bugs of life, those pesky little annoyances that rob us of the life God meant for us to have, cannot survive.

The prophet Habakkuk addresses this in the third chapter of his book.  In Habakkuk 3:19 he shares the following truth about our Heavenly Father, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”  Let us take note of three brief lessons packed into this statement.

First, Habakkuk recognized that the source of his strength does not lie within himself; it comes from God.  So often we try to live the Christian life in our own strength, only to realize that we are incapable of doing so because only God can provide the strength we need. He alone is our constant source of all we need.

Second, the prophet states that it is the Lord who makes his feet like those of a deer.  Now, what does he mean by this?  Deer are sure-footed, running great distances, leaping over obstacles, and climbing seemingly insurmountable heights with ease and confidence.  This is exactly the life God intends for his children.  As our source of strength and confidence, God enables us—indeed, he intends for us—to live on the heights away from the mundane obstacles and circumstances that keep us in the valley and away from the mountain tops.

Habakkuk’s final lesson is found in the word heights.  As we just mentioned, this is where God intends for us to be.  Way up high where the chiggers of life, those pesky, little doubts, fears, and worries, can rob us of all he has in store for us.  To avoid those pests, God does not intend for us to use repellent but to scale the heights and to live where they cannot harm us.  Are you living above the chigger line today?