Tag: Journey

Hope For The Journey

CourtneyLeave a comment

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 

Recently, as we are coming to the end of this school year, and as I have just taken my last final for the semester (praise God!) I have been reflecting a lot on growth and change; where I have been and where I am going. And what this all means.

I’ve never been the kind of gal who loves change and uncertainty. In fact, I wrote a whole post on this a couple of months back here. However the older I get, the more I begin to see change through a new lens—and the more I realize how life is, in and of itself, in many ways, unexpected. If we are not changing and growing, we will eventually find ourselves stagnant. And when we are stagnant, than chances are, we are running from the place where God is trying to bring us to. 

Looking back on my college years, and even this past year, I’ve faced a lot of changes in a very short amount of time. I’ve changed majors. I’ve changed part time jobs a couple of times. I changed churches about a year ago. And on top of all of that, I’ve changed the way that I see change itself—and the ‘divine interruptions’ that so often get thrown our way. Some of these changes have been hard, but most of them have been really incredible. And all of them have shaped me into the person that I am today. 

Here’s the thing guys—life is a journey. It’s a crazy, twisty, windy road with so many stops and views along the way. And we may not know where every path leads, but God does. He designed each of our routes specifically for us. And if we could see all of the plans that God has for us, I’m pretty sure it would totally blow our minds; because God’s plans and God’s promises are so much bigger and more spectacular than anything that we could ever imagine in our wildest dreams. 

I admittedly don’t know a lot about art or photography, but I do know that in both there’s a little something called ‘perspective’. Depending on how you draw a picture, or shoot a photo, the finished product is going to look totally different. Different angles give you a different perspective, even though you’re painting (or taking a picture of) the same person or object.

I am a firm believer that this principle applies in life as well. So often, we can only see life from our perspective—through the lens of the here and now. But what if we had the chance to view our lives from God’s perspective? What if we could see how He’s divinely orchestrated our steps into a symphony that makes up the story of our life? How would our perspective change if we could see every detail of our story? How would each of our lives look from God’s perspective? 

This week, I want to challenge you to see change—and life, differently. To see your life in light of a grander story. To see your circumstances through a different perspective, and see how much God has moved to bring you to where you are today. And if you are in a not-so-great-season of life, I want you to remember God’s faithfulness—how He has guided you through these seasons before and how He will most certainly do it again. I want to challenge you to see your life in light of eternity. I want to challenge you to see life from this perspective—and trust the one who holds it all in the palm of His hands.

Because our God knows exactly what He is doing.

Image result for jeremiah 29:11

How about you? Have you ever struggled with change, or uncertainty about the future? What did God reveal to you through this time? Please feel free to share in comments section below! I’d love to start a discussion about this!😃

Wonder

Courtney1 Comment

“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3.

There’s something magical about our earliest experiences during childhood. Our first time time losing a tooth. Our first trip to an amusement park. Our first time riding a bike without training wheels. Our first couple of Christmases – when we couldn’t wait to wake up and see what ‘Santa‘ had left under our tree. I know that if i look back over my own childhood experiences, I can think of many times that I remember vividly. I can also remember the feelings that accompanied them – a feeling that can most accurately be described in one word: wonder.

Somewhere along the way, that wonder often gets lost. We grow up and we learn what to expect. We become jaded. We become bored. We begin to see life as a list of tasks to be done, rather than an adventure to be lived. And too often, we carry this same attitude over into our faith.

For many of us, it can happen unintentionally. We get busy with work and school and our faith gets pushed to the back burner. We face opposition from the world and dim our light. Sometimes, we can even get so caught up in knowing information that we lose track of what it means to simply be known – interacting with God on an intellectual scale rather than a personal one. Somehow, it can be all too easy to make our faith a part of our routine—losing track of the wonder of being known, saved, and loved by our God. 

Jesus never intended for us to live this life halfheartedly. In Luke 10:27, He says that the Greatest Commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength—and to love your neighbor as yourself. He doesn’t want half of our heart, or part of our heart—He wants our whole heart, and every bit of wonder that comes from a life sold out to Christ.

This is not about legalism or salvation. We are saved the moment that we accept Christ as our Savior. But we can never experience the fullness that God has for us if we don’t continuously seek Him in our day-to-day lives. Through God’s Holy Spirit living inside of us, we have the power to do great and mighty things that are beyond anything we can ask or imagine. We have the power to be bold and courageous and to make a difference for God’s Kingdom. All that we have to do is come to God with an open heart and seek the fullness of His presence—falling in love over and over again with the God who didn’t want to spent eternity without us.  

I’m writing about this because this is something that I need to hear myself. It’s a lesson that I still need to learn every day along with every other Christian fighting the good fight and living out a reckless, passionate faith in God. We could all grow in wonder of our God—as we worship, pray, study His Word, and seek His presence.

This week, I want to challenge you to recapture the wonder that you had as a child in your relationship with God. To ask Him to fill your heart more deeply with the joy and power of the Holy Spirit. To carry an attitude of worship with you as you go throughout your week. To cultivate a closer relationship with the one who created you.

To never stop approaching our Heavenly with wide-eyed, childlike wonder. 

Favorite part of the song – I see the world Your way/ and I”m not afraid to follow/ I see the world Your way/ And I’m not ashamed to say so/ I see the Jesus way/ And I’m walking in the light.

How about you? How do you believe we can approach our faith with a sense of wonder? If you have any thoughts feel free to share them in the comments section below!