Have you ever noticed that there are two types of people who are on a journey. They are the “journey” types and the “destination” types. The “journey” types of people enjoy the planning of the trip. They enjoy the driving, and they enjoy taking in the sites and all the side trips. They are enjoying the journey while on their way to their destination. The “destination” types do not enjoy the journey. They are all about getting to their destination. They are in a hurry to get to their destination and they want nothing to interrupt their trip. Sometimes being a destination person is a necessity, like needing to get to a hospital in an emergency. But if you rushed all the time you will miss some very important things along the way. Now in some ways, it’s not a bad thing to be a destination type, because at least you have a destination. Without a clear destination, a journey lacks focus and any way to measure progress forward, because you don’t know what the way forward is.
The Bible pictures the Christian life of following Jesus Christ as being like a
journey. In fact, when you think about it, we are all on a journey, whether you
are a person who takes their time to enjoy the ride or a person who just wants
to get there. The fact is we are all on this journey, called life. As
Christians our journey is a bit different, we have been called to follow Jesus.
Our journey did not end at our salvation and baptism. These points of our lives
weren’t an ending destination they were the beginning. We are called to listen
for the voice of God and to follow. It is not easy work, but what a journey it
can be, if we just took the time to stop and listen, so we don’t miss anything!
That’s why it is important to enjoy the journey, not just the destination. In
this world, we will never arrive at a place where everything is perfect and we
have no more challenges and John 16:33 confirms this, “In the world ye shall
have tribulation”. As admirable as setting goals and reaching them may be, you
can’t get so focused on accomplishing the goals that you make the mistake of
not enjoying where you are right now. For where you are right now may very well
be a place where God is wanting to stretch and grow you closer to Him through
situations and yes, even difficult times of trouble.
Phil. 4:6 tells us “not to be anxious about anything”, yet we do. We’re anxious
to grow up, graduate from school, get that next job, get married, start a
family, for our children to grow up and then, move on to the next season of our
lives. God however, wants us to slow down and consider the things that are
passing us by. He tells us in Ps. 46:10 to “be still and know that I am God”.
He wants us to enjoy where we are as well as our looking forward to that
blessed hope and final destination.
So the next time that you are tempted to become bored and frustrated in your
journey, recall the times your children pleaded with you to make their trip go
faster than you were able to. Few things are more difficult than driving a long
distance with small children. You pack the car, it’s a hot day, and you dread
the long journey ahead. You instinctively know the kids will be restless. No
matter how many activity books, games and DVDs you bring, you still hear the
steady complaint of, “Are we there yet?” and recall how you may have answered
them. Was it with an irritated or threatening response? No matter how you
respond, on long trips, kids seem focused on the final destination, that is
just what they do, it’s their human nature which must be trained.
Like our children we often get focused on the destination and forget to pay
attention to the journey we are on as well. No matter what God provides for us
and does for us on the trip we still seem to be focused on the destination.
However, those who embrace their journey and find ways to enjoy them are
allowing themselves to be trained by them and will find that their journey was
just as important as their destination.
Hold Fast,
-Bren
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