Finding Peace in the Jungle
Jungle safaris and trips to the Amazon. I will confess vacations like this are not in my top ten trip destinations. But sometimes, we don’t have to travel to the jungle to find ourselves in it. Life can be a jungle, and occasionally the vines and foliage are too thick for us to see our way out.
Are you in a jungle right now?
I recently put together a retreat message about learning from Jane Porter, the one and only Jane from the Tarzan movies, who, early on, struggled in the midst of the jungle. While Jane is a fictitious character, we can still gain valuable insight from her story.
1. Jane learned the jungle wasn’t as bad as she thought.
Initially, Jane was frightened by Cheetah the Chimpanzee, and Tarzan, but later hung out with both of them. She transformed from a damsel in distress to a woman fully capable of defending herself and surviving on her own in the jungles of Africa. The jungle eventually became her home and she found her heart in the jungle as Tarzan transformed from “ape man” to her husband.
I don’t know about you but I’ve always been a little afraid of the jungle. I never really wanted to venture into a physical jungle because I figured I’d step one foot in and be gobbled up by a wild animal or a man eating plant.
But I found out the jungle is not what many of us think it is. I looked up some jungle trivia and here are some facts you may not know:
The chances of being bitten by a poisonous snake in the jungle are as remote as being struck by lightening.
There are very few poisonous plants in the jungle.
There are no cannibals in the jungle.
What is a person’s worst enemy in the jungle? Not a snake. Not a wild animal….but a mosquito. Why? Because mosquitos carry Malaria.
Sometimes it’s those mosquito thoughts that buzz around our brain and can turn a perfectly happy mood to sour. It’s the small things we allow to take us down. Instead of thriving in the jungle, we barely survive.
When I read this, I realized if I had had such a misconception about what a jungle was really like, maybe the life jungles I experience aren’t nearly as bad as I perceive them to be.
What situation in your life is giving you jungle fever? Perhaps it’s something from your past you can’t shake. Sometimes the jungle gets bigger and more ominous because our perspective can be skewed.
We have to remember there is no jungle that God can’t maneuver us through. Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
2. Jane found her calling in the jungle.
Sometimes our most difficult times are where we hear God’s voice the clearest. Often he has to take us into the jungle or a wilderness to get our undivided attention, so we will be forced to rely entirely on him and so only he can be the one to guide us out, perhaps to a place we’ve never been before. When we can’t see past the foliage, he makes a way.
How about another piece of jungle trivia? Did you know a compass does you absolutely no good in the jungle? In our personal jungles, only God can lead you out. And maybe he’ll make you sit a spell because he just wants you to stop and spend time alone with him and in the Word. He’s a jealous God. Be still and know that he is God. When we’re still, God’s compass begins to work.
3. Jane eventually realized the jungle was where she was supposed to be.
And we’re where we are supposed to be unless God tells us different. Are you unhappy with your lot in life right now? Trust that God has you where he wants you, even if you are experiencing hardships.
If you’re unhappy, have you ever let God plan your day? You may have surrendered your life to God but have you surrendered all your activities? There are no complaints at the end of the day when you do that.
Do you pray before you start your day? It’s a great way to have peace in the jungle. Do you ask him to connect you with the people he wants you to meet? He answers your prayers and everything flows from him.
Trusting the jungle designer and his plan for your life through the jungle experience is enhanced when you let him guide you through the process.
3. God can help you overcome whatever obstacle you’ve faced in the jungle.
God wants us to be victorious over our past. He doesn’t want us stuck in the quicksand.
Here’s another jungle fact for you. What is the best way to escape quicksand is if there’s no one to pull you out? People sink because, in their panic, they are rapidly moving their legs and arms and that’s what causes them to go under. The best way to get out of the quicksand is to lie on your back and float to the surface.
We may feel like we’re sinking, and doing everything in our own power to get ourselves out of the quicksand, but God wants us to quit our striving, and let him pull us out when it’s time to be rescued. Psalm 40:1-2 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD, he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, and out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.”
Are you ready for a new song? The Lord is ready to give us one.
What jungle trials do you need healing from? God is our healer. Claim Psalm 103: 2-5: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion’ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Truthfully, Jane Porter found something beautiful in the jungle. She fell in love with Tarzan, had a son, and even developed a love for Cheetah the Chimpanzee. God looks at you and calls you beautiful. You are the apple of his eye. You are a unique creation. There’s only one you and you have value to the kingdom.
If you know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you already have what you need to be survive in the jungle; you just have to tap into it.
Give your life to the king of the jungle. Let him be your compass out of the thick vines that can blind us sometimes, and be confident that when you trust in him, even in the thick of the jungle, like Jane Porter, he will give you the desires of your heart. (LBW)