I find that I’ve struggled over the past several weeks to offer a meaningful blog post. I have struggled with creativity and a desire to offer something meaningful and hopefully insightful. But perhaps the struggle in itself is something worth discussing. Often in life we, even as Christians, struggle with creativity and meaning. We are pulled in so many different directions that we are worn out and stretched thin. At such a point It becomes worth considering: What are the things that we are allowing to control our attention? What are the things to which we give our time, efforts, creativity and abilities? What are the areas of life that we are giving our intentionality? These questions are worth our consideration, because if the answer to any of these questions is not God or something that God has directly given us responsibility for, then chances are there’s a good reason we feel worn out and stretched thin and lack meaning and purpose.
I might suggest to you that we struggle enough in our lives, that we have enough to worry about, without adding to our struggles and worries by focusing on things that are inconsequential or superfluous. I find myself often engaging in a different but related struggle. That struggle is wanting to be able to get to the ending point and not enjoying the journey that takes me there. I not only want to be able to see the path that God has for me but also see the destination or, at least, the way points along the way.
Quite often, and perhaps most often, God does not reveal the path and its entirety for our journey. Most often, we are only given the next step. For me, this lack of clarity can be very frustrating at times. I want to know what I want to know, when I want to know it, how I want to know it, and I want things to work out when, how and why I want them to work out and on my time frame (is there any doubt in this moment that I am an only child?). However, the answer to this struggle is also quite simple, even if it is difficult for us to implement into our lives at times.
The answer, framed better than I can articulate, is found in Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not into your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. When we simply trust in God to guide us, we are promised that our path will be directed. This is not a promise to give us everything we want to know, as we want to know it, but it is a promise to always be guided. There are no magical teleportation devices this side of heaven (regardless of how badly I or you may want one). There’s a lesson in the struggle, there are lessons in the journey. They are lessons that we would miss out on if we did not experience all the steps that take us along our way, on our journey, and toward our destination. We would greatly miss out on learning and growing closer to God, in the absence of the struggle that we experience at times to get us there. God knows that we are better when we trust in him, embrace the struggle, and take the time to enjoy the journey along our way.
Again, God never promises us that he will reveal the entire path; it is a promise that our paths will be given direction. And a lesson that I learned long ago that I am still learning today is, “the direction in which one travels is always more important than the speed at which one travels”.
I might suggest to you that we struggle enough in our lives, that we have enough to worry about, without adding to our struggles and worries by focusing on things that are inconsequential or superfluous. I find myself often engaging in a different but related struggle. That struggle is wanting to be able to get to the ending point and not enjoying the journey that takes me there. I not only want to be able to see the path that God has for me but also see the destination or, at least, the way points along the way.
Quite often, and perhaps most often, God does not reveal the path and its entirety for our journey. Most often, we are only given the next step. For me, this lack of clarity can be very frustrating at times. I want to know what I want to know, when I want to know it, how I want to know it, and I want things to work out when, how and why I want them to work out and on my time frame (is there any doubt in this moment that I am an only child?). However, the answer to this struggle is also quite simple, even if it is difficult for us to implement into our lives at times.
The answer, framed better than I can articulate, is found in Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not into your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. When we simply trust in God to guide us, we are promised that our path will be directed. This is not a promise to give us everything we want to know, as we want to know it, but it is a promise to always be guided. There are no magical teleportation devices this side of heaven (regardless of how badly I or you may want one). There’s a lesson in the struggle, there are lessons in the journey. They are lessons that we would miss out on if we did not experience all the steps that take us along our way, on our journey, and toward our destination. We would greatly miss out on learning and growing closer to God, in the absence of the struggle that we experience at times to get us there. God knows that we are better when we trust in him, embrace the struggle, and take the time to enjoy the journey along our way.
Again, God never promises us that he will reveal the entire path; it is a promise that our paths will be given direction. And a lesson that I learned long ago that I am still learning today is, “the direction in which one travels is always more important than the speed at which one travels”.
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