“Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.” (John 16:28 NLT)
At almost any given time in the course of our days, we’re busily engaged in something that is taking us to someplace or bringing us from another place. It seems our life is almost continuously in process of coming or going, yet it’s my contention that we rarely, if ever, stop to consider whether the constant motion of our lives is beneficial to our walk with Jesus.
And by movement, please understand that it’s not always physical, it can be our mind, emotions, or even our spirit that is traveling. Where do you find yourself “travelling” today? I have a dear brother who is in a job that has very weird hours. He’s nearly always operating while being sleep deprived and finds himself stuck in a place in his life, he doesn’t enjoy but understands it’s part of the journey the Lord has placed him on.
What about you? Are you seeking to go to a more desirable place, either literally or figuratively, or are you more interested in escaping from a place that isn’t satisfying or rewarding? Or maybe it’s a little bit of both? Having made a lot of moves in my life, I can see with 20-20 hindsight the consequences of each move, so, have learned a lot about what I did right and what I didn’t do so well.
It happens in relationships, jobs, churches, hobbies, houses, and in many other ways. We wake up one morning and for whatever reason, it just doesn’t “fit” anymore or it doesn’t “feel” right. Maybe it’s prompted by a person at work who found the “perfect” job. What they so quickly forget is that the job they’re leaving was the “perfect” job when they took it.
It happens in relationships, even in marriage. The kids are gone and the incremental moving apart over the last several years now appears as an unscalable mountain, or a gap that is uncrossable. The pretty girl or handsome man who notices us and likes to listen to us, seems so much more interesting than the same ole, same ole we get at home.
It happens at churches also. Many “new” people who are coming to our church are leaving another church they loved a few years before. We love that we’re welcomed and invited to participate, not stopping to consider that we played this same scenario before, sometimes over and over.
What’s my point in all of this? Simply this. Each of us is on a journey from birth to death and the path we choose is going to lead us closer to Jesus or move us further from Him. Sometimes that’s by design, but sometimes we don’t even fully realize the implications of our desired change.
As I understand it, some of these transitions are chosen for us, things such as death of a spouse or some major health problem in us or in someone we love and for whom we want to be involved in their care. Sometimes our motivation is something “new” or “different.” We may feel we’re no longer appreciated and/or are being taken for granted.
Whatever the reason it’s important we ask some questions of ourselves, others, but especially of our heavenly Father. Questions like “why?” What’s prompting this increasing desire for a change? And vitally important is the consideration of this critical question: “Am I running TO this new opportunity or running FROM something that has hurt me in some way?
Let’s look at this more closely in tomorrow’s post.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 