journey on.

I was recently plagued with this image of a fork in the road. I couldn’t get it out of my head. And I’ve learned that when stuff gets stuck in my head, I have to put it on paper. So I did. And now I share these words with you in hopes that they spark courage afresh, no matter the journey God has you on.

The Lord is good and being good, always and forever.

 

 

The journey’s been weary.
You’re thirsty.
Hungry.
Lonely.
Ready for new terrain.
That’s about when you see it.
Two roads up ahead in the distance
Begging for your attention.

The road to the left boasts of green grass and blue birds and tulips.
This road. It’s what you’ve hoped for as you’ve grabbed slivers of rest in the dirt on the long journey.
This road. The one to the left.
It’s met you in your dreams.

Then your eyes glance over at the road to the right.
The road that looks like every turn behind you. The turns that have left deep scars testifying of where you’ve been.
Rocks mark the ground, lying in wait to cut the soles of your feet once again.
This road. The one to the right.
It’s the road you’ve tried to forget.

Then you hear His voice.
You hear His voice coming from the road to the right.
The hard road.
The painful road.
And you realize the weight of the choice.

You could turn down the road to the left.
You could.
Just the thought gives a jolt of air to your suffocating lungs.

But His voice.
His voice whispers.
His presence waits for you on the road to the right.

And you crumble to your knees questioning why.

You don’t want the road to the right.
You don’t want to go hungry or thirsty anymore.
But then you remember:
Your God, He is water.
He is breath.
He is life.
And wherever He leads, you desperately want to follow.
Even down un-asked-for paths.

You feel His strong, kind hand lift you from the ground.
You sense His tender presence.
You know that He sees you.
You know that He hasn’t forgotten you.
And you know that if He beckons you down this road to the right then it’s with purpose.
It’s with the end in mind.
It’s because of His great love.

It doesn’t make sense: His love.
His love that allows for — ordains — hard travels.
But it’s His love that beckons you down roads you would have never chosen for yourself.
Because He has a good plan. A creatively unique, flowers-blooming-from-ashes plan.
And He’s interested in your holiness. And mine.
A holiness that spreads and grows under the strain of trial, because in trial our roots go deeper into Him.

The road to the right.
You wouldn’t have asked for it.
But now, you consider choosing it.
Because you’ve learned that He’s the reward.
And wherever He leads, you desperately want to follow.

 

“Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work (* do what I’ve told you to do), for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.” Haggai 2:4b-5
* my personal words of explanation

 

Fill me, Lord…

How do you personally “press into” the Lord and seek His guidance for your journey?

Can you testify to the Lord calling you to walk a road you wouldn’t have chosen, yet you found Him faithful in the journey?