Enjoy the Journey

Here I am writing... or trying to. It's been a long time. Too long, I know. As with so many things, I seem to always try to wait for the perfect conditions. That's not necessarily a good thing. Even this morning, I stopped at my favorite coffee shop - with the intention of sitting down to write - but I left right away as soon as I saw that it was packed and bustling with activity. "I can't write here!" So I moved on to my second choice. Still not perfect conditions, but I started thinking that the enemy may be trying to stop me from doing this. So here I sit, sipping my coffee, listening to Bethel Music's Synesthesia (drowning out distractions) and literally putting pen to paper like this for the first time in months.

These last few months have been a time of stretching. We had a little illustration in church yesterday that involved rubber bands. "A rubber band is worthless if it's not stretched", our Pastor said. Implication being that for us to be worth much to God we have to allow ourselves to be stretched, as well. And, oh by the way, the stretching typically isn't comfortable. But "comfortable" isn't typically where God wants us to be. Great things are not typically accomplished in a place of comfort. Great things are accomplished when you step out of your comfort zone. They happen when you're willing to trust God enough with whatever it is you feel you're letting go of when you leave that comfortable place.

What is it that keeps you from stepping out? What are you afraid of? Don't you trust God with it? Don't you think He can handle whatever it is? Especially if you feel - no, when you know - that He is the one calling you out of your safe place and into the unknown? Don't you remember, over and over again we read in scripture that blessings follow obedience? So why are you afraid to step out? And when you do, why are you still stressed and fearful? He is with us always. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He will never leave or forsake... me. He has plans for you... for me.

All of the questions above? I was asking them of myself. Also of you, but if I can be a little transparent, I think the Holy Spirit was questioning me through my pen.

What am I afraid of? Why am I not just full of joy and gratefulness when I look at my current situation? God has placed me right where I am - Heaven knows I never would have gotten here on my own - and He knows why I'm here. And He knows what's next. And because He knows, I don't need to. I don't need to know what my career will look like a year from now. I don't need to know exactly what will be going on with that non-profit two years from now. I don't even have to know where we'll be living in six months! All I need to know is that He has it all under control. My job is to be obedient - every day - every opportunity He gives me - to make the next right decision for Him. To go where He leads. To do what He says to do. To move where He's moving. To live unfiltered for Him. To pay attention to this wristband that I wear. All the time. Every day. Every moment.

And as I do so, as we do so... Live life with peace. Live life with joy. Live it with excitement! Live it in such a way that others want to have what we have. If we make it appear that the Christian walk is drudgery and painful and difficult, then who on earth would ever want to join us on the journey? No, it IS a joyful walk. A life of obedience IS a life full of blessings. Don't let the enemy twist it around. Don't let him get your head so messed up that you lose sight of the prize. Don't forget to enjoy the journey. (Sorry, one more bit of the Holy Spirit using my pen to speak to me again. If it applies to you too, though, grasp onto it!)

Enjoy the Journey! It isn't always just about the destination. Without what takes place along the way, we wouldn't appreciate the destination nearly as much.

Thank You Lord. Thank You that You are with us always. Thank You that you know our destinations and that You know what we need along the way. Prepare us, Lord. We trust You. I trust You.




Location: Milton, GA, USA

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