Weekday Devotionals
Trusting in the Journey by Brenda Nidiffer
Galatians 3:3 - Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
We have all heard the statement, “It’s not how you start the race that matters, it’s how you finish that really counts.” Starting out on a journey, a new adventure or pursuing a calling God has placed on your heart is filled with many emotions at the beginning. Our hearts are full of excitement, anticipation, new energy for the goal we are pushing ahead to pursue. We can picture the finish line and every ounce of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes with it. We are all in, we will do whatever it takes to reach the goal.
With time, the excitement of the start begins to fade, the finish seems to be getting further and further away, questions begin to fill our hearts. Are we ever going to get there? What have we done wrong? Did we miss it? Maybe we should have never started in the first place? The doubts and fears continue to creep in and we are faced with a choice. Do we trust God and continue to embrace the journey, waiting and enduring every twist and turn ahead or do we take matters into our own hands and come up with the quickest, most logical way possible to reach our goal?
We don’t like to wait. We don’t like the growing pains or the seasons of being still because we feel like we aren’t accomplishing anything. We can’t cross off our to-do lists and hate the feeling of not having anything to show for what we have been pursuing. We are often criticized by others, being questioned every step of the way because we have nothing to show for all of our dedication, hard work and sacrifice. The world whispers, “If you would just do things this way, then everything will come together.” We live in an instant society, so the thought of waiting and enduring for the finances to come together, for God to bring the right relationship into our life, or having to endure one more Sunday of set-up, tear-down can often times cause us to jump ahead of God’s perfect timing and take matters into our own hands.
During Sunday’s message, Pastor Pete shared an update of where things stand with the church’s ROOTED campaign. I have no doubt this was difficult for him to share. He is a very goal oriented individual, from his personal life (anyone who has ever taken part in one of his Murph-Prep workouts will know what I mean) to how he approaches ministry. The goal is that the lost would be found and the found would grow. Yes, a permanent facility is all part of furthering the kingdom and reaching the goal. But, with a humble and trusting heart, he challenged us all by saying we started this journey trusting the leading and guiding of the Spirit, why wouldn’t we finish it any other way?
So, we wait, we endure, we embrace the journey however long it takes. We trust that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” (Phillipians 1:6) Whether it’s in our personal lives or in the life of our church family, our Heavenly Father is more concerned about the heart work throughout the journey, than reaching the finish line. How our hearts respond and trust His timing as He writes the story is what matters to Him. He provides, He sustains, and at times He carries us during the journey. We all love a beautiful story. Thrive Church let’s continue to allow God to write his perfect story in our hearts and lives and let Him determine when we reach that finish line!
Questions for Reflection:
-Is there an area of your life you are finding it difficult to trust God’s timing in?
-Have you taken matters into your own hands trying to speed things along?
-Do you need to take a step back and surrender the timing and details back over to God?
Keep Trusting and Pursuing!
Love you all,
Brenda
Galatians 3:3 - Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
We have all heard the statement, “It’s not how you start the race that matters, it’s how you finish that really counts.” Starting out on a journey, a new adventure or pursuing a calling God has placed on your heart is filled with many emotions at the beginning. Our hearts are full of excitement, anticipation, new energy for the goal we are pushing ahead to pursue. We can picture the finish line and every ounce of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes with it. We are all in, we will do whatever it takes to reach the goal.
With time, the excitement of the start begins to fade, the finish seems to be getting further and further away, questions begin to fill our hearts. Are we ever going to get there? What have we done wrong? Did we miss it? Maybe we should have never started in the first place? The doubts and fears continue to creep in and we are faced with a choice. Do we trust God and continue to embrace the journey, waiting and enduring every twist and turn ahead or do we take matters into our own hands and come up with the quickest, most logical way possible to reach our goal?
We don’t like to wait. We don’t like the growing pains or the seasons of being still because we feel like we aren’t accomplishing anything. We can’t cross off our to-do lists and hate the feeling of not having anything to show for what we have been pursuing. We are often criticized by others, being questioned every step of the way because we have nothing to show for all of our dedication, hard work and sacrifice. The world whispers, “If you would just do things this way, then everything will come together.” We live in an instant society, so the thought of waiting and enduring for the finances to come together, for God to bring the right relationship into our life, or having to endure one more Sunday of set-up, tear-down can often times cause us to jump ahead of God’s perfect timing and take matters into our own hands.
During Sunday’s message, Pastor Pete shared an update of where things stand with the church’s ROOTED campaign. I have no doubt this was difficult for him to share. He is a very goal oriented individual, from his personal life (anyone who has ever taken part in one of his Murph-Prep workouts will know what I mean) to how he approaches ministry. The goal is that the lost would be found and the found would grow. Yes, a permanent facility is all part of furthering the kingdom and reaching the goal. But, with a humble and trusting heart, he challenged us all by saying we started this journey trusting the leading and guiding of the Spirit, why wouldn’t we finish it any other way?
So, we wait, we endure, we embrace the journey however long it takes. We trust that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” (Phillipians 1:6) Whether it’s in our personal lives or in the life of our church family, our Heavenly Father is more concerned about the heart work throughout the journey, than reaching the finish line. How our hearts respond and trust His timing as He writes the story is what matters to Him. He provides, He sustains, and at times He carries us during the journey. We all love a beautiful story. Thrive Church let’s continue to allow God to write his perfect story in our hearts and lives and let Him determine when we reach that finish line!
Questions for Reflection:
-Is there an area of your life you are finding it difficult to trust God’s timing in?
-Have you taken matters into your own hands trying to speed things along?
-Do you need to take a step back and surrender the timing and details back over to God?
Keep Trusting and Pursuing!
Love you all,
Brenda
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