One early Saturday morning on April 26, 2003, a twenty seven year old mountaineer and avid outdoorsman named Aron Ralston sets out for a 108 mile mountain bike ride/hike into the Canyonlands National Park of Southeast Utah. This short 5 day trip included a rock-climb into Horseshoe Canyon.

Ralston knew this solo trip would require weeks of planning in advance. He had every detail covered, including the contents of his back pack: one chocolate bar, a chocolate muffin, two small bean burritos, one plastic grocery bag, a mesh pouch containing a CD player, CDs, extra AA batteries, a mini digital video camera, a multi-use/knife tool, a headlamp, lip balm, two water bottles, one Camelbak/water pack, climbing ropes & harnesses. The only detail he did not attend to, however, was informing his friends and family where he was going and how long he’d be away.

Once his truck is loaded with his backpack and bike, Ralston sets out on his journey that ill-fated April morning. He parks his truck in a nearby tourist lot, gets on his bike and begins an 8 mile ride into the Park. By 1:15 pm that afternoon, he arrives in Horseshoe Canyon, dismounts his bike and U-locks it to a nearby juniper tree. He then begins hiking to his next attraction, Blue John Canyon. When he arrives at the bottom of the canyon, he immediately pulls out his climbing gear and starts up the wall. By 2:41 pm he is a quarter of the way into his climb and begins maneuvering over a series of chock stones, which are large refrigerator-size rocks nestled in the narrow deep slot canyon.

What happens next marks the beginning of what Ralston describes as an experience “nothing short of hell.” Three seconds play out a tenth of their normal speed as a rock---or more like a boulder--- loosens from above and falls. It crushes Ralston’s right hand, pinning it and his right arm against the wall. For six days and five nights, Ralston is trapped in the canyon, attempting to preserve his food and water rations, till finally he resorts to collecting his own urine in his Nalgene bottle and drinking it to keep from dehydration. The daylight gives Ralston hope, but as night falls, the canyon grows “bitterly dark and is an unbearably cold place of lonely solitude; an arctic prison without a warden and but one abandoned inmate, forsaken even by the supposed ringleader of the underworld.” Ralston then says, “There is no other spiritual energy, good or evil, on which to project love or hatred. There is only one emotion in hell: unmitigated despair wrapped in abject loneliness.” (Between A Rock And A Hard Place, 2004 Atria Books, pg. 238)

By the evening of Day Five of this “hell experience,” Ralston finally succumbs to what seems an inevitable fate: death. “I understand that this is the end, that I won’t survive the night, and the thought does not stir me, because I have stopped fighting for control. Letting go of my desire to dictate the outcome of my entrapment releases a disconnected feeling of lightheartedness that vaguely approximates bliss. I’ve recognized a great truth: Some other marvelous force is in control, and has been all along. Give it whatever name I want, all I know for sure is that I don’t have to sweat it out anymore, because I’m not in charge.” (pg. 247)

As you read about Aron Ralston’s story, perhaps you are in the middle of a time of great adversity. Are you caught “between a rock and a hard place?” Perhaps you’ve experienced some kind of life circumstance that’s left you discouraged and feeling like you’re in a “bitterly dark and cold place of lonely solitude.” Maybe your heartache and sadness has resulted from a stressful relationship, a break-up or even divorce. Or maybe your challenges have stemmed from a terminal illness or health condition; adjusting to retirement or the ending of an athletic or professional career; an uncertainty about the future; the death of a loved one or child; or a sickness that has brought you to a point of surrender. Maybe an insecurity has been exposed in front of very critical eyes. Since economical crisis hit our country a year ago, loss of employment has resulted for many people. Maybe that’s your situation. And, of course, there are many who suffer with depression.

When you lay your head down on the pillow at night, do you ever wonder if there is anything or anyone worth living for? Sometimes when we get alone with our thoughts we think there is no way out of the circumstances and we’re totally alone. We think it’d be much easier to die than to live with the unbearable pain. It would seem so much simpler just to give up.

But then, a new day dawns and after a long night of suffering and despair, you begin to sense this “Marvelous Force” as the sunlight peers through the windows of your bedroom. “For His anger lasts only a moment but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, ‘I will never be shaken.’ O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To You, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: ‘What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.’” (Psalm 30:5-10)

Each new day brings with it hope because you realize that you’re not in control and more importantly, that you, in fact, are not alone. The Marvelous Force is God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence around you in times of adversity. Listen to how Jesus Christ describes-- His third--- Person of the Trinity:

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer…But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:7-10, 12-14)

If you invite God’s presence into your life, He will reveal to you areas of your life where you fall short. Upon your confession, He will then give you His grace, mercy and His righteousness (Romans 10:9-10). Because of His sacrifice on the Cross, you can be made new (2 Cor. 5:17); “new” in the way you think and live. As you experience God’s presence and get to know Him by reading the Bible, you will begin to know His heart, His character, and His attributes. You will know how to make decisions concerning your life situations because a part of Him lives in you which directs your thoughts and desires.

Back to the Aron Ralston story….it has quite an incredible ending! On Day Six, in a final desperation to save his life, Aron Ralston does the unthinkable. He purposefully breaks his arm and then takes a knife tool and saws through the muscles, veins and ligament tissues, freeing the remainder of his right arm from between the boulder and the wall! When he is found by rescuers, severely dehydrated and bleeding (it could have been much worse if he hadn’t used a tube like piece from his Camelbak as a tourniquet), his story quickly makes national news.

Ralston underwent 3 major surgeries to ward off potential bone infections and to repair the damaged arteries and veins of his right arm. Ralston then received a prosthetic device, which he now uses as he continues to go on mountain bike and rock-climbing adventures. Ralston has written a book about his experience (Between A Rock & A Hard Place, Atria Books, 2004) and does inspirational speeches around the country. He has appeared on the David Letterman Show and in other television and magazine interviews as well.

In the final chapter of Aron Ralston’s book, he explains: “For all that has happened and the opportunities still developing in my life, I feel blessed. I was part of a miracle that has touched a great number of people in the world and I wouldn’t trade that for anything, not even to have my hand back. My accident in and rescue from Blue John Canyon were the most beautifully spiritual experiences of my life. When we find inspiration, we need to take action for ourselves and our communities. Even if it means making a hard choice, or cutting out something and leaving it in your past. Saying farewell is also a bold and powerful beginning.” (pg. 342)

My prayer for Aron Ralston is that he would seek wisdom and inspiration from God. I pray that he will experience the grace and love of Jesus Christ and recognize how glorious Christ is! It is through Jesus Christ that we have access to God and a chance to experience true joy!

His Word tells us that He allows adversity to point us to His Son!

“…we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:4-5)