The Journey Over the Destination

    I remember watching my babies learn to walk.  How exciting when they would take those few wobbly steps before falling.  There would be cheers and encouragement for their successes and failures as they tried to walk.  But every once in a while there were those moments when their desire for something was so strong that after taking a few difficult steps, they would drop to their hands and knees and crawl.  Crawling would get them there faster and easier when the journey of walking was taking too long.  Getting their chubby little hands on what they wanted was more motivating than trying their new skill of walking.  


    Sometimes this picture looks a lot like our walk with God.  He wants to hold our hand and walk with us as we take wobbly and uncertain steps.  He desires to see us growing and maturing by taking steps of faith.  Our walk with God often looks like abandoning the faster and easier route for the more arduous journey He calls us to take.  I believe that to God, the journey matters more than the destination because it is on the journey that we learn to rely on Him rather than ourselves.  


    The steps we take with God, and the stumbles, are both needed to grow and strengthen us.  The journey serves to build our faith, confidence, and trust in Him.  If we hurry the journey just to get what we want, we only reinforce the old way of getting there on our own.  Even when our desires are admirable, like having more patience, choosing gratitude, or taking better care of ourselves; God’s heart is to be a part of the process.  A life of faith is journeying with God, learning to rely on Him, and surrendering our desires to the One who knows what is best.  


    The pull to independence is very enticing, as well as any path that feels easier or faster.  No one really wants to go through the valley to get to the mountaintop.  But perhaps the journey is where growth happens and what we need most is learned.  God uses the journey to transform not just our behavior but our very hearts.  He changes us from the inside out so that the growth in us is deeper and lasting.  This type of transformation cannot be easily taken away from us.  It becomes a part of us, and we aren't who we once were when we finally get there.  




In their hearts humans plan their course,

but the Lord establishes their steps.


Proverbs 16:9

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