HINDS’ FEET
Of all the things people have spoken over me — some jokingly, some sincerely — these three might be my favorite: a gooney bird, a mountain goat, and a Jack Russell Terrier.
Somehow, that combination makes me a prayer warrior who flies awkwardly, climbs steadily, and digs relentlessly until the roots give way — all in the same day.
It was spoken over me years ago in a basement full of women who are prayer warriors — “The Lord says you’re a goat.” We all laughed, because if you know me, you know I can be as stubborn as one. But then the woman — a stranger to me until that night — smiled and said, “No, not that kind of goat. He’s given you hinds’ feet, the kind that can climb and take you into the high places.”
I didn’t understand it then. I thought it meant strength or maybe endurance. But now I know it was a promise — and a process.
See, mountain goats are born with hinds’ feet. It’s part of who they are. But they’re soft at first. Unsteady. It takes rough terrain to shape them, to harden the hoof and teach balance.
You don’t learn to stand on cliffs by staying in the meadow. You learn it on the rocks.
That’s how God works with us, too. He gives us what we need — the call, the gifting, the anointing — but it has to develop under pressure. Those first steps are wobbly, the ground uneven. Sometimes we fall. Sometimes we bleed. But over time, our feet — our faith — callus just enough to keep us surefooted in the climb.
He toughens our exterior while keeping our hearts tender. Only Father God can do that.
I used to think the hard seasons were punishment. Now I see them as training. Every disappointment, every delay, every steep, lonely place was God strengthening my steps — teaching me to trust the path, even when I couldn’t see where it led, proving again that He wastes nothing and that all things work together for good — even the rocky terrain we walk.
Maybe that’s you, too. Maybe you’ve been slipping, sliding, wondering why the ground under you has to be so hard. Maybe you’ve prayed for flat roads, but God keeps calling you higher.
It’s because He knows what He’s placed in you.
You were born with hinds’ feet.
They just had to be tested to prove what they could do.
And one day, you’ll stop long enough to catch your breath and look back at where you’ve been. You’ll see it wasn’t the mountain that changed. The rocks are just as sharp, the ledges just as narrow — but you’ve learned how to move across them. The ground that used to shake under your feet doesn’t scare you anymore, because you’ve learned how to stand on it.
Fear starts to fade when faith takes over — one step, one climb, one rough patch at a time.
I imagine it’s like the climbers who scale Mt. Everest and finally reach the top, turning to look back at the impossible ground they’ve covered. There’s pride there, but not the arrogant kind — the kind that settles deep in your chest when you realize, “My Father knew I could do it... and now I know it, too.”
Life is a lot like that.
——— ✦ ———
The Lord God is my strength,
and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
and makes me walk on my high places.
— Habakkuk 3:19
We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing
that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope.
–– Romans 5:3–4