Clinging on to past failures stops one from trusting and experiencing Gods’ favor throughout life’s journey. Rather than getting preoccupied with the end result, instead, enjoy the ride, have hope, and realize that the journey has a lot to teach it’s not just about making it to the final destination.
Oftentimes I have personally felt that the other side of my heart, praying for “Gods will,” was possible to avoid failure at the end of the journey. Even in the end, if the results are not what you expect, I believe the journey was “Gods’ will.” God was able to teach you lessons that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. Even as you pray for “Gods’ will” to take place upon the things which you are currently focused on, would you not also believe the journey itself was preordained?
Meditation from
1) Transformation in the Journey – Hosea - Chapter2
2) The 2 Disciples Journey to Emmaus
3) Peter Walking upon the Water.
⮚ Transformation in the Journey
The experience one has during the journey is mostly unpredictable. Although one might assume that somehow, they have been coerced into their actions, God has actually planned those twists in the journey. To illustrate this point, Hosea expands upon the notion of how God shapes us throughout our journey in the following passage:
Hosea 2
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor[b] a door of hope. There she will respond[c] as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.[d]’ 17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.
Through this passage, God metaphorically speaks to the Israelites. We see that God is “alluring,” and leading them into the wilderness. In relation to my own life, I can relate. You feel as if God is opening a new door, or leading you into a specific situation. Then the story quickly changes; its wilderness, it’s a lonely time. You don’t have many people who you can confide in on a personal level. It could likely be a phase where you begin to think, did I actually hear God's voice? Or, where is God in my life? The very reason God is bringing us to a place of seclusion is to “speak tenderly“ with us. Looking through the scriptures, we can find a multitude of such situations in which God leads people into seclusion in order to speak with them. One example is Moses running away to the desert, where God speaks to him. God speaking with Elijah in the Mount of Horeb, after running away from Jezebel and holding up under the broom tree, acts like another.
It is also in this season that God shifts us to his new provision. We note in the above verse that God was promising to bring them to vineyards that were lost; in other words, to tell of the joy that was lost. God also promised Israelites that he will make “the Valley of Achor a door of hope.” Achor translates to trouble or affliction. We find out about this valley in the book of Joshua with Achan’s sin and the place where he and his family were stoned to death. You could be in a place where no one has ever made it out, in “the deep valley of affliction,” and yet God has a way of changing it around.
Most important is the transformation that happens within this relationship; we read/hear God promising that Israel will no longer address God as “My master” but instead, as “my husband.” This is the sweetest part of the journey; the transformation. The intimacy between you and God. God is more than a concept, a person you were not just afraid of. In the journey of life, you would be able to taste and know the goodness of God; the relationship with God no longer would act as a burden but an overflowing expression of love and God removing the name of “Baal” from the lips of Israel, through this journey you will see God redefining you.
⮚ The 2 Disciples Journey to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–49 )
These two disciples were not walking with the joy of the Resurrection of Jesus. We see them confused, sad and having lost all hope. Their turn of events did not unfold as expected. I have found myself in this sort of situation multiple times, in which I have kept walking forward, unsure of where the journey was headed. Confused, and carrying the results of which I didn’t expect. Sharing with others and still without a direction going forward. These disciples had surely heard of a couple of events post-Resurrection but were not able to connect the dots. They had expected the Messiah would be setting up an earthly kingdom. Therefore, knowing Jesus was crucified caused them to lose their hope, unable to get a sense of what was occurring around them. The tale of the journey changes when Jesus starts to walk between. They couldn’t realize it was Jesus who was walking between. We see Jesus starting to teach them from the scriptures, and they started to connect the dots. We eventually see in the story that these disciples invite Jesus into the fellowship. As Jesus sat down with them and broke the bread, their eyes were opened to understand it was Him. They stated; “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Do you find yourself in the road to Emmaus, not able to figure out what's going around in your life? Listen to the voice that is speaking to you. As Jesus promised us; “ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” – John 14.18. It could be in the valley of the shadow of death that you are walking today, but know that your Shepheard stands by your side. Would you pray today; Lord, could you come into this journey, be my guide, and open my eyes to understand your plan. Whether you are going through concerns within a relationship, pray, and know that God can walk between us. If it were not for the Lord to walk between, the journey would be meaningless.
⮚ Peter walking upon the water. ( Matthew 14:22-33)
Sometimes it’s just a leap of faith to jump into the water, knowing its God who is calling you into it. In this passage we see Jesus send disciples in a boat to the other shore. The journey doesn't go smoothly. The wind is against them on their journey and they see Jesus walking on the lake, although the disciples couldn’t initially recognize him. But upon hearing the voice of Jesus, they deiced to jump off the boat and walk towards him overtop the water. When you recognize it is God who is calling you into the deep water, yes it may sound scary, and risky, but I ask you this; would you jump off the boat? Peter, walking on the water, looked around seeing the waves. He started to sink down, crying out loud “Lord, save me!“ When you walk upon the water, have your focus solely on God. Being distracted by the wind or the situation around you will only act to hinder you. Some of my more memorable prayers involve these three aforementioned words of Peter; “Lord, save me!” Having started your journey in faith and seeing the waves, are you currently in a position of sinking down? You are not of the master’s hand to save you.
After a few years of going through a crisis in my career, I wrote down a prayer; “Lord even as I am drowning to the depth of the water – my eyes look above the water desperately for your touch.” Looking above the water, you see the gracious hands of the master reaching out for you again.
Conclusion
Isiah 43:18-20: But the Lord says, "Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. 19 Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already - you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there”
The more you cling on to the past, the more the future of your journey will be delayed. Each of the closed doors and rejection was acting as the guiding light towards the provision God has in store for you. Would you take the step of faith, trust God, and start walking forward on the new path that’s opening up in front of you?
Sharing this quote I came across a few years ago;
You require to overrule the fear of failure with the faith in God – who will never give up on you- go forward in your journey?
Prayer- Lord I come to you with all my fears- failures – these are weighing me back – from going forward in the journey you have designed – Lord give me the faith that’s required to sail through this period – transform me in this journey – lord speak me to – give me direction – open my eyes to see you – Lord give me the faith to walk above the water- I can't do it by myself- I need your grace – In Jesus' name – Amen.
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