The following post is an excerpt from our upcoming devotional, Marriage on a Mission–A Short-Term Journey with a Long-Term Impact.

“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When He had gone indoors, the blind men came to Him, and He asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?” ‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied. Then, He touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you;’ and their sight was restored.” Matthew 9:27-29

As we traveled east across the desert today, I took note of the large pieces of tire tread strewn all over the highway—clear evidence that flat tires and blow-outs occur quite frequently in the desert. At times, we had to be careful not to run over the rubber with our van. Clint said the long journey, combined with the heat of the desert and the expansion of air in the tires, often causes the rubber just to…give way.

My spiritual life has mirrored this same principle many times. It’s pretty safe to say that I’ve had my share of blow-outs in the desert. When the duration, intense heat, and pressure of painful circumstances all seemed to combine, resulting in a spiritual blow-out, of sorts. More often than I’d like to admit, I’ve been forced to pull off the road and make some necessary repairs and adjustments to my faith. To complicate matters, each time I’ve had to pull over, fears and worries threatened to keep me off the road; staying safely on the shoulder much longer than was really necessary.

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” What an intriguing question Jesus asked the two blind men. As we drove through the desert on day 2 of this 40-day journey, I knew God was asking me the very same thing. “Do you believe that I can sustain you and provide for all your needs during every day of this coast-to-coast mission?”

I have to admit, I’ve had my share of doubts about what has, at times, seemed like a rather crazy undertaking. There were days prior to leaving when I convinced myself that this trip was too far outside my abilities and my comfort zone…that I could never actually set out on, let alone finish, a journey like this. And, now I realize that I’m right. I can’t handle this journey. But, I know Someone who can.

The question is, “Do I really believe that He is able?”

Do I really believe that God will carry us through every experience, every trial (and we’ve already had several) every detour, and every blow-out? As we drove down the interstate toward Arizona, I realized that I needed to re-affirm the fact that indeed, “Lord, I believe!”

The moment we exercise our faith by telling God we believe He is able to ______________ (Go ahead, fill in that blank with whatever you’re facing right now, no matter how outrageous and impossible) is the exact place where the rubber meets the road.

With every journey comes Grand Canyoned-sized risks; that much is true. But, it will always be our faith in what God can do, that will retread our souls and get us back out onto the highway.