“Two things have really shaped my life,” well-known TV adventurer Bear told a 1000+ strong audience of church members, scouts and fans of his TV shows on January 9. “The first of them is adventure and the second of them is faith. But the truth is, those two words are really one and the same thing.
“When I first joined the military as a young soldier, and eventually went on to serve in the British Special Forces, I always remember a soldier came up to me and said this – ‘there are three things in life to have faith in. The first is yourself, the second is each other and the third is the Almighty.’
“I always remember that, I always kind of liked it. But what does faith really mean? How can faith be relevant to our sometimes difficult lives? How can faith guide us? How can it really empower us?
“Because the truth is, whenever it is going great, it's easy to think that we don't need anything. But what happens then is that life often comes along and hits us hard,” said Bear.
“Life tests us and asks you questions. And whoever we are, if our foundations in life are shaky, we fall down, and I've seen that so often in my life.
“I've seen this often in the wild as well. You know, you take people into the jungle and desert or the mountains, and everyone thinks they're strong, until they're not. You know, myself included, the wilds are very humbling place. But it is a universal truth that whoever we are, life will test us.
“Your Everest if you like, will always come. And it might be a physical mountain. But it might be a mountain of the heart. Maybe, you’re maybe having a tough time - at home or at work. Maybe something worse, like we lose someone close to us.
“But whatever it is, our Everest in our life will always, always come.”
Bear reached the top of Mount Everest in 1998, at the age of 23, becoming one of the youngest Britons to do so at the time, just 18 months after breaking his back in a parachuting accident.
“It took us, I think it was 65 days to climb,” said Bear. It was steep and cold and the summit was like a small little coffee table. Minus 45 degrees. But that high hostile mountain, also took its toll. We lost four climbers lives whilst we were up there, two died of the cold and two fell to their to their deaths. And to be honest, on that mountain, I experienced many moments of struggle and doubt, as I did moments of eyes wide open.
“People often ask me, what helped you up there? What's helped you since in so many of these deserts, jungles, mountains and oceans? And the answer goes back to that soldier, and that word. That word is faith. I think especially faith in each other. And especially faith in the Almighty. Because I've learnt that on my own, despite what the TV always makes out, I'm actually pretty weak. You know? But when we're connected to something bigger, I get stronger.
“I've leant on my faith so much over the years, and in so many moments. Not just in the day job, trying to get out of quicksand, or rapids or avalanches, or rockfalls, and crevasses, and parachute things. But also in life - in the good times, but also in the less good times.
“I've just learned to lean on the beautiful presence of Christ within. And it's always there and it's quiet, and it's empowering. And it's never, never let me down. But that's not to say that it makes life easy. I wouldn't want you to think that. It is not true. To be honest, it's made for many battles and many struggles. And many doubts as well. It's just part of the journey of life.
“I really, really have many, many moments of doubt when it comes to my faith. But then, I've learned this is okay. It’s like two sides of the same coin, faith and doubts – you can't have one without the other. At other times, I've tried to go it on my own - and I've survived for a while, but on our own, we can never be fully empowered - time and experience has taught me that. It's like. Having that light inside is actually the starting point of all true adventure.
“My mum used to say: ‘Man is never as tall as when he kneels down’. “And I always love those words -but it's hard, life is a humbling journey,” said Bear.
“I once stumbled across a little chapel, high up in the mountain woods, in a remote part of the world - thick walls, old door, no lock. There was no one inside, and at the far end, there was this old hewn rough wooden cross. As I sat there, I noticed that there were some words, and I went up and I read it. It just said: ‘Christ within me, Christ beside me. Christ to shield me and Christ to win me’. Super simple and beautiful, humble words, but words that have helped me so much quietly in my life. And it's why I say those two things. Adventure, and faith, are one of the same.”
Watch Bear Grylls peak at Soul Church on YouTube.
Pictured above is Bear Grylls at Soul Church in Norwich. Pictures © Soul Church and Keith Morris.
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