“Therefore we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
If you are going to survive — and thrive — today, you’ll need something better than just your wits!
Joseph Meek was a runaway. At seventeen, he feuded with his father and step-mother. In 1829, he fled his native Virginia for a journey that would take him to the Oregon territory and the life of a mountain man.
In Dreams of El Dorado, H.W. Brand’s history of the American West, the author gives us this account of Meek’s foray into the unknown.
As soon as Meek thought he could manage on his own, he took off, without wishing his parents goodbye. “They didn’t grieve,” he said later.
On his journey, Meek encountered William Sublette of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and the offer of the “the adventure of his life." Brand describes the encounter:
Joe Meek was tall, rangy and full of confidence of the naive. He said he wanted to sign up.
”How old are you?” demanded Sublette.
”A little past eighteen,” Meek replied.
”And you want to go to the Rocky Mountains?”
”Yes.”
”You don’t know what you are talking about, boy. You’ll be killed before you get halfway there.”
”If I do, I reckon I can die!” said Meek, unabashed.
”That’s the game spirit,” Sublette said, satisfied. “I think you’ll do, after all. Only be prudent, and keep your wits about you.”
”Where else should they be?” said Meek, most pleased with himself.
Meek, like the mountain men of his day, were a tough breed. And they needed to be. Brand writes, “The rule of life in the mountains was eternal vigilance, and the price of distraction was often death.”
Mountain men trapped beaver. They battled harsh conditions and extremes in weather, all of which those who live climate-controlled lives can only imagine. They fought Indians and at times ran from Indians.
Many mountain men died young — very young!
Once, near the Continental Divide, the Sublette party was attacked by the tribe of the Blackfeet. Brand writes that whites and Indians alike considered the Blackfeet violent and vicious, the scourge of the Rockies.
“Woe to the trapper who found himself alone or in small company when the Blackfeet appeared.”
Separated from his party, Brand tells us that Meek “had only his mule, his blanket, his gun and his wits.“
That line caught my attention. As I read it, I wondered if that is how many of us run our lives when we are on the run . . .
On the run from trouble.
On the run from depression.
On the run from a failed relationship.
On the run from a disappointing past.
On the run from a big problem.
We survey our accoutrements and what do we find? The modern day equivalent of our mule, blanket, gun, and wits. We’re living the “Joe Meek Life.”
Reading Hebrews I’m reminded of another way of confronting life’s troubles. This way does not ignore my resources — neither my “weapons” or my “wits.” But it does recognize a different resource, one’s ultimate Resource — the Lord.
“Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Hebrews was written to people “on the run,” from their confidence in Christ. The writer of Hebrews is urging them — and me — not to live the “Joe Meek Life.”
You have so much more than your “mule, blanket, gun, and wits!” You have Jesus, and He is so much better!
Hebrews tells me I can be safe and satisfied when supplies are meager and life is mountainous. And the reason is not my resources, but The Resource — the One who never leaves us or abandons us.
In many ways we don’t live in Joe Meek’s world. Beaver trapping, surviving extreme weather, and violent skirmishes are mostly a thing of the past. But then again, we do live in Joe Meek’s world. Tough times come and we find ourselves “on the run.”
The question is, “Will we do battle the Joe Meek Way?” Will we rely on our resources, our mule, our blanket, our guns and our wits . . . or will we take the better way? Looking to Christ is not to ignore your resources, but it is to trust him — and not your resources — to deliver you from the tough times.
Today, no matter what you face, you can say,
Bring it on! The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
_______
Notes:
“As soon as Meek thought he could manage on his own . . .” from Brands, H.W. Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West. New York: Basic Books. p. 63.
Brand describes the encounter . . . from Dreams of El Dorado, p. 64.
“The rule of life in the mountains . . .” from Dreams of El Dorado, p. 83.
“Brand writes that whites and Indians alike considered them violent and vicious . . .” Read Brand, page 70 for an interesting analysis of the Blackfeet, as well as how early encounters with Lewis & Clarke may have contributed to their hostilities.
“Woe to the trapper . . .” from Dreams of El Dorado, p. 70.
Meek “had only his mule, his blanket, his gun, and his wits” from Dreams of El Dorado, p. 71.