Being on a journey is okay…it’s more than okay because that’s where you experience My Presence, where we draw near to each other, where we experience things together, where you see Me come through again and again and again, where I cover you in my protection, my love, and you experience my goodness. So embrace the journey.” 

 

Think about it. If you were single and all of the sudden you wake up one day and you were walking down the aisle to get married to someone that you didn’t know, or didn’t know very well, you probably would be a bit scared and feel not so sure about committing to covenant with this person forever, why? Because you don’t know them. You haven’t been on a journey together of dating, being engaged, getting to know each other (quirks and all), you haven’t experienced things together, you haven’t walked through difficult situations together, and so on. You haven’t been on a journey together.

So why do we view going through life any different and often dislike the journey “part”? It’s actually all about the journey. It’s all about Him and His Presence. It’s about the journey of chatting with Him, getting His view of things and people, and trusting Him because you truly know Him and His heart for you and this world. He wants us to stay focused on His Presence and His promises. And when this is our focus, peace and a thankful heart are the result. Not tension or anxiety from constantly just asking Him to fix this or fix that, being frustrated when we don’t see results in our timing (and what we think should be His timing), or just feeling overwhelmed or bored from daily life of work, taking kids to and fro, going to church on Sundays – because the focus there is on ourselves and just getting from Him (usually material or physical things). Psalm 46:10 (TPT) states, “Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop striving and you will see that I am God…” Read that again, it’s about seeing that He is God – it’s about our relationship with Him. It’s about having a perspective change where we see what He sees, thinks what He thinks, acts as He acts, expecting something supernatural from God, and accepting the invitation to invade the impossible in His name through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us!

So right now, I am learning this (again) and God is challenging me to embrace the journey, but He is meeting me there with His peace, love, and grace. In going through a specific journey right now in my life where many things are out of my control and the timing of receiving responses seems horrible through my natural eyes, God is reminding me to choose to view it and embrace each day as a journey with these two truths:

1) He is still in control and He is not surprised by anything.

 

Anything? Really? Yes, anything! “Instead of dashing headlong toward your goal, let ME set the pace. Slow down, and ENOY THE JOURNEY IN MY PRESENCE” (Jesus Calling). Did you hear it?…It’s a journey and it’s choosing daily to surrender control and allow Him to set the pace. SO I invite you to receive His gift that He is in control; it is a gift, not a frustration. Psalm 46:10 (GW) says, “Let go [of your concerns]! Then you will know that I am God…” The CEV translation says it this way, “Calm down, and learn that I am God!” And learn…again, it’s about a journey with Him and learning that He is God and that is more than enough…He is God…PERIOD.

 

He also knows every single detail, and He has a plan – He had a plan for every situation that you would encounter before you were even born. Even if it’s something that seems so small and insignificant to you, it’s not disregarded by Him. Romans 8:28, “So we are convinced that EVERY detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.”

 

 

2) Evaluate your mindset.

 

God is in the transformation of our mind business because He made our minds and knows how important they are to the rest of our beings. But often, I don’t take time to stop and evaluate my mind. But if in our minds (usually seen through our words out loud or that we play in our heads to ourselves), we don’t truly trust AND surrender our concerns to Him, we will be in a state of anxiety, frustration, fear, worry, and just negativity. It goes back to the truth earlier: “I am God.” Do we have that in the depth of our beings? Do we live from this place? Do we view every situation from this place?

 

Because when we do, asking and receiving His view of the situation (whether we have or know the answer or not is irrelevant), trusting His goodness in all things, releasing the power from the Holy Spirit into every circumstance in life, and letting go by not fixating our minds on the issues, but instead being thankful and focusing on His Presence and His Promises, what will flow out of us is “joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures…faith that prevails…,and strength of spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23, TPT). And He is faithful; He is the Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness!

So I invite you to choose to embrace the journey. And tomorrow, choose to embrace the journey again. And in 4 months, choose to embrace the journey again. Because as I look back, this is what He has been continually reminding me of – it’s about being on a journey with Him, traveling from one place to another.

“…We are being transfigured (Greek verb, metamorphoō, which is the same word for our transfiguration through the renewing of the thoughts of our minds!!!) into his very image AS WE MOVE FROM ONE BRIGHTER LEVEL OF GLORY TO ANOTHER. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18, TPT). 

He delights in us, He delights in our intimacy with Him, He delights in our need to rely on Him in ALL things, He treasures the journey with us – it’s about relationship.