No lie. I outlined these posts weeks ago with nothing on my mind but what I thought the Lord was leading me toward. This particular week I had entitled “The Journey” after listening to Darlene Zschech on a podcast – because she called faith a journey. I liked it. I borrowed it. But when I listened a second time, I changed it.
And then I realized this would be our week to pack up and move – at last launching into our great adventure. Only God can line up real life with a ‘plan’ He gave me weeks ago.
So when I tapped back into that initial source of inspiration – back to Darlene Zschech, I again got to hear her Aussie voice describe how this faith journey is one whose destination is Never.1 Sure, we’ll have plans; we’ll finish projects, but this journey with Jesus never really ends.
I think of this move and how we’ve coordinated with packers and movers, real estate and closing agents. And, once those tasks are completed, we have a route all mapped out so that we get to our new house in time to meet the moving truck. We know where we’re going – we have plans!
But Darlene warns us that this faith journey is no trip. There’s no set itinerary, no knowing where we’re headed next. In fact, just about the time we think we’ve gotten it all together, God says, “Pack your bags. Let’s go, baby.”1 This is the great adventure.
It’s life lived by faith.
Rolling With It
For our big trip to Italy last fall, we created an outline of everything travel-related – booked flights and hotels, places to visit, train and rental car reservations. We checked all the boxes and were ready for our dream vacation.
And while the trip was more amazing than I have words for, not everything went as planned. Bus tickets couldn’t be purchased on Sundays. Bad weather shut down every ferry along the coast. Train strikes made it impossible for anybody to travel to their next destination. None of those items were on our list. They were totally unexpected.
In fact, the unexpected happened often enough that my husband and I adopted a mantra of sorts – as a way to keep our heads up in times of challenge – “It’s all part of the adventure.”
The first few times we made ourselves speak that phrase, the words were forced through gritted teeth. But by the second or third day, we could laugh-off the hard parts and wholeheartedly exclaim, “It’s all part of the adventure!”
Our words of wisdom helped us shift our focus and our attitudes – because the truth became clear. No matter how much we prepared and planned, we couldn’t know everything. So, we could let the unexpected ruin the day or adopt a mindset that allowed us to roll with it all.
Here’s the craziest part. The planner in me wanted to hold tighter. To figure it out myself. To put down my foot and refuse another change of plans. But, the woman-embracing-faith in me, who had already learned many lessons with the Lord about holding the reins loosely, actually released her grip – and got to watch God come through every time! Such as…
- A sweet local woman who sold us bus tickets right out of her purse.
- A bus that suddenly appeared with enough room for us and the friends we’d made while standing in line…for hours.
- A driver who just happened to be near the train station and would take us across the miles.
Over and over, we witnessed God’s goodness in the tiniest of details. All because we gave Him room to do so.
Moving With Him
As we set off on our next great journey – moving twelve hours and a time zone away from everyone we hold dear – we are determined to hold the same mindset, to remember at every turn that it’s all part of the adventure. Even if…
- the weather causes delays, we’ll trust God to make a way.
- furniture gets lost or broken, we’ll remember what really matters.
- loneliness sets in, we’ll look to the One who is always with us and take hope in the fact that He has good plans for us in this new phase of our journey with Him.
It helps to think on such things, to set our minds in such a way before watching our belongings shoved into impersonal cardboard boxes, before setting out for Georgia with our car full of everything we deemed absolutely necessary. Because reality says there will be challenges. There will be delays and hard days. And so we leave clinging to the truth that even though we won’t always know what the next stop holds, we know the One who does.
I suddenly see clearly – just as this cross-state adventure is us embracing faith and moving with God, so is this life on earth as those who follow after, and yearn to be more like, Jesus.
Adventuring with Him
Another nugget of wisdom that Darlene dropped on that podcast was a question I don’t think I even had words for:
How do we balance the open-handedness of the great adventure with the responsibility of budgets and plans and schedules and calendars?1
And I don’t know that she really answered it – at least not as I sit here and stare at the words. Yet I think God may be tugging at me, reminding me that this is the very journey He has had me on for many years – that of walking by faith with a willingness to do everything I can, physically and spiritually, while trusting the outcomes to Him.
Friends, our Father has gifted us. He’s woven within us abilities and passions for good reasons. We’re meant to use them, not deny or ignore them out of some false humility or fear that we’ll fail or slip into selfish ambition. Our Maker has included in our hard-wiring the ability to learn and grow, physically and spiritually, so that we can live for Him and His purposes.
And that is us living responsibly – with open hands.
I’ve discovered in my own life that seasons ebb and flow. In some seasons I live attached to a very long leash, flying through the adventure without much need of God’s help. But, then there have been seasons where I’m tethered more closely to my Father because He knows how much I need Him – those times that Darlene calls “seasons of squeeze,” where we actually learn what we believe and why we believe it.1
She talked about her walk through cancer and how God asked her if she trusted Him. And she thought she did until it got really hard – then she had to work out the truth, “Actually, do I?”1 She found depths of faith she didn’t realize were there until she trusted God through each step of that journey with Him.
And we’re no different. Whether we’re soaring through open skies or barely shuffling through the valley, God is near. And He is asking if we trust Him – are we willing to embrace faith through every adventure life brings? Are we willing to trust His heart, His ways, His timing, His love?
As we say yes to the great adventure with the Grand Trip Planner of all trip planners, we’ll watch with awe the ways He comes through, carries us, and builds our faith. This is what Jesus meant when He said things like all we need is a mustard-seed-sized faith – because that’s all God needs to His work wonders (Matthew 17:20).
We have a choice, fellow travelers, as to how we will walk with God. May we embrace faith and step into this journey knowing it is a great adventure, full of ups and downs, packed with experiences that will be beyond anything we could ever ask or imagine – because our God will always have the power to do immeasurably more (Ephesians 3:20).
And, may we follow our leader into the great unknown, believing that the love of God will take us far.2
Father God, You have given us much to ponder today. But one thing we know – life is full of surprises. Try as we may, we will never know how each day will go. That’s why we choose to embrace faith in You as our means of moving with You through the great adventure that is life. We know that You are never bound by time, nor are you ever limited in power or sight. You are the Alpha and Omega – and that means You see it all; You know everything from beginning to end. And that’s why we open our hands, handing the reins over to You. Lord Jesus, may your words about faith only needing to be as big as a mustard seed become truth to our minds, for we desire to live by faith – not by sight. And, may we understand with your wisdom and discernment how we, at the same time, can walk with surrendered faith and do the work You’ve given us. Holy Spirit, we ask for your help as we take each step of this journey. Build our faith so that we will believe that God and His Word will be the lamp on our path – that He’ll shine His light on each step so that all we have to do is follow with faith. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
(inspired by Ecclesiastes 11:5; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 2 Peter 3:8; Revelation 1:8; 1 John 3:20; Luke 1:37; Hebrews 4:13; 1 Peter 5:7; Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 17:20; Colossians 3:16; Philippians 1:9-10; John 14:26; Jude 20-21; Psalm 119:105)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – Annie F Downs’ interview with Darlene Zschech on her That Sounds Fun podcast, Episode 928.
- 2 – A few lyrics from Stephen Curtis Chapman’s song, “The Great Adventure”
- I did, actually, add “The Great Adventure” to our Embrace Faith playlist this week. It seemed a fitting song as our actual move is finally happening, and its lyrics totally go with embracing faith. Funny story, I have a vivid memory of listening to that song, very loudly, on the nights that I had to stay up grading papers — back when I was teaching freshman English in 1992. Yup, I just aged myself. But it’s also so cool how the tune and melody immediately pop in my head anytime I hear the phrase, the great adventure. Thank you, Stephen Curtis Chapman!!
Saddle up your horses
We’ve got a trail to blaze
Through the yonder of God’s amazing grace
Let’s follow our leader into the glorious unknown
This is the life like no other whoa whoa
This is The Great Adventure - The Abiding Life Newsletter is one way we continue the conversations about embracing faith and abiding in Christ. Its most recent edition is available on Substack.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but even more so be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is what aids us in our desire and ability to become more Christlike.
Embracing Faith in our daily lives can lead to spontaneous rhythms, like claiming truth aloud: this is all part of the adventure. It can also be surrounded and fed and upheld by intentional rhythms that look like confession or worship or soaking in the Word. This week let’s pay attention to what raises our stress or causes us to plummet with discouragement — and peel back the layers to see where we might be holding the reins a little too tightly. It’s the simple practice of pausing and asking ourselves why we feel the way we do. And once we recognize the source of the negative emotions that try to hold us captive, we speak it aloud and give it all to God. It may sound too simplistic, but I promise it’s not easy. We’ve responded the same way to stressful situations for our whole lives, so it takes mentally, emotionally, and spiritually naming those habits and letting them go — over and over — until we begin to change.
Another funny story — The day I wrote this post, I was agitated with my long checklist for our move — nothing was getting done because I was always having to wait on other people. Then that night we found out our painters would not be done in the new house before the movers arrived — this created chaos and required a huge pivot! Praise God, my husband and I let it all out — our questions, our frustrations, our worries. Really named it all. Then we got practical and adjusted — even as we once again gave everything over to God. It had become abundantly clear again that we are not in control — but we have the capacity to do what we can, then give the rest to our good, good Father. I crawled into bed that night humbled — but also laughing. God had given me the opportunity to live out everything He showed me in my own writing. That God. LOL
- Finally, as a community, let us not neglect sharing God’s amazing grace with others! Share your God-stories with people around you. Share this site. Share God’s Word. Shine His light into the world!
Featured Photo by Alex Shutin on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Sahand Babali on Unsplash.
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Enjoy the journey to your new home/new life.
Thank you!!!