The Journey!

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

During this forty days of Lent, it has become clearer than ever to me that just like these days to Easter are a journey, our every day life is also a journey. The nation’s problems and unrest, the international state of wars and human suffering, even the weather seems to have added twists and turns to the journey our lives take every day.

Sometimes we feel as though we are attacked on all sides by a new situation, daily inconveniences, unexpected problems, people who seek to deter us from our mission, illnesses among friends, and even the loss of someone. Sometimes it seems that the constant setbacks cause us to stumble and fall. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a way to go back and fix the things that have happened along our journey so that things would turn out the way we had it planned?

I have always enjoyed the movie, Back to the Future with Michael J Fox. In the movie, Marty McFly (Fox) is accidently sent back from 1985 to 1955 in a plutonium powered DeLorean when an experiment by his eccentric scientific friend goes horribly awry. Marty is charged with a journey where he must make sure his parents meet, fall in love, and marry, or he will cease to exist. In the process of the journey, he manages to change a few things from the past which end up making his life and his parent’s life a good bit better when he comes back to the present. It’s an enjoyable work of fiction, but things like that just don’t happen.

If there was ever anyone who could have changed the journey of his life, God could have done that for Jesus. He could have spared Him the rejection, the emotional trauma, the endless days of walking and healing, the spiritual agony, the betrayal, the temptaion, and the crucifixion, but He would have missed the miracles, the healings, the love, and the resurrection.

God was in control of the journey that His son would make for our salvation. Jesus knew He had a hard journey ahead of Him, and God had prepared Him to expect that.

Just like Jesus knew some things to expect on His journey, it would probably help us to be mindful of some things on this journey that I think we should all expect. First, we will experience opportunities and opposition. When God opportunites present themselves, sometimes opposition will present itself as well. Sometimes others will attack us on our journey to achieve these opportunities, but we can be sure that their attack should be considered a form of respect. It means that they consider us a high value target, and they can use the attack as a way to upset the plans that we have been given by God.

Next, people will hurt us. These people are usually needy (self centered), negative, distracting, draining, or doubting. They want to pull us down instead of lifting us up. The Christian thing to do is to encourage them, love them, help them, but never be influenced by them. When the journey with them becomes impossible for us to give them a hand up without pulling ourselves down, the only answer is disconnecting graciously and turning them over to God.

Finally, people will help us. When God has a job that needs to be done, He calls someone to do it, but He seldom calls us alone. Through our ministry, God has put many new ministries in our path, but fortunately, He always helped us to recognize that there are many things we can’t do alone. Not everything is our gift, so we should always ask others who are more qualified to stand with us and help. Paul spent an entire chapter in Philippians acknowledging the people who had helped him fullfil God’s vision when he said, Everytime I think of you, I give thanks.

A journey is defined as a process of experiences, challenges, and discoveries along the way to our life’s destination. As travelers we are constantly encountering new people, places, and experiences that shape who we are and what we become. copied

Our journey is now and ongoing. We have a chance this year to contemplate our journey up to this point and add expectations. Unlike Marty McFly, we can’t change the past, but we can improve the present!

Prayer: Dear Father as we continue our journey today, strengthen our mind, body, and soul to be aware of your tasks that are set before us. Thank you for others who surround us on this journey! In Christ’s name. Amen.