Hinds' Feet on High Places

1.Much-Afraid's surname is not a character flaw assigned from outside — it is the name she has carried all her life. How do the fears we have lived with longest become part of how we identify ourselves?

1.When the Shepherd invites Much-Afraid to the High Places, her first response is essentially: 'I can't. Look at me.' Have you ever responded to a sense of God's calling with a list of your inadequacies? What was that like?

1.Much-Afraid is stunned and confused when the path leads into the desert rather than upward toward the mountains. Can you recall a time when God's path for you went in a direction that felt completely wrong? What was your initial reaction?

1.The forests in the allegory represent seasons of spiritual darkness and threat — places where the enemy's voices grow louder. How does Much-Afraid maintain her footing when she cannot see clearly? What lessons does that hold for you?

1.Much-Afraid's crippled feet are most painfully apparent on the steep, rocky sections of the path. How does God use the places where we are weakest — rather than our strongest gifts — to accomplish His purposes?

1.Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as 'the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' How does Much-Afraid's journey through the mist and along the precipice illustrate this definition in a concrete, physical way?

1.Much-Afraid's journey takes far longer than she imagined, with detours she did not plan for. What does the length and difficulty of the journey reveal about what God is actually after — and how different is that from what we are usually after?

1.Isaiah 43:2 promises: 'When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.' What does God promise in this verse — and what does He notably not promise?

1.When Much-Afraid arrives at the High Places, the Shepherd gives her a new name — Grace and Glory — because her old name no longer fits who she has become. What does a new name signify spiritually, and why is receiving a new identity from God such a central part of the transformative journey?

1.Grace and Glory (formerly Much-Afraid) is sent back into the valleys she came from, but she is now different. What is the difference between returning to a difficult place unchanged and returning to it transformed? What changes about how you move through familiar terrain when you have been to the High Places?

1.Looking back over the entire devotional and allegory, which week or chapter spoke most directly to where you are in your own journey right now? What made it so resonant?