You May Be A Trail Blazer If...

A good way to start off this post is to define the term trail blazer.  According to dictionary.com a trail blazer is a person who blazes a trail for others to follow through unsettled country or wilderness.  A pathfinder.  Or a pioneer in any field of endeavor: (a trailblazer in science.)

I remember studying about the pioneers that settled our country.  From the time they landed on the shores of America, they pressed westward, passing the spirit of the trail blazer down to the next generation until all of America was settled.  With each generation the trail became more clear and America's heritage became more solid.  These people were real trail blazers.  Because of what they did (and did without) we are who we are and have what we have today.

One of the greatest trail blazers of all times (to me) is the man William Carey.  Carey gave up his life and moved to India in the late 1700's to share Jesus with the people of India.  It was a hard life which cost him one of his sons.  While there his wife suffered a nervous breakdown.  He shared the gospel and worked very hard to support his family for several years before the first person accepted Christ.  But in God's time the people of India started to find the path.  The trail to Jesus was being blazed!  William Carey is known as "the father of modern missions" even today.  Carey was a true trail blazer of the gospel of Jesus in the nation of India. 

Do you think you are a trail blazer?  You may be a trail blazer if:

• You are a first-generation follower of Christ in your family.
• You continually feel motivated to go against the flow.
• People continually tell you "It won't work" - but you simply can't get the "What if" out of your spirit and mind.
• You cannot tolerate mediocrity.
• You feel the need to improve on what the previous generation has handed you.
• You feel the need to prepare the next generation to blaze even further than you have.
• You feel the frustration of not seeing the results you think you should see.
• You feel like you cannot relate to those you are sent to.
• The heart of God becomes the dream you are pregnant with.
• You see the results many times - after the fact.

Being a trail blazer is not easy.  Trail blazers can experience rejection and hurt from well-meaning people.  Trail blazing is not a popular concept.  But the heart of the trail blazer is special.  God created this heart with an extra measure of resilience and stamina.  Trail blazers experience discouragement often, but still press on just like the pioneers of old.  

If you are a trail blazer be encouraged.  You often don't see the fruit immediately, but you will see it.  You will receive your reward in full.  The very nature of your calling is to impact the lives of others.  And believe me, for that...the reward is great!