:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

The Destination is Not Up to Us…

When I moved from college to seminary, I had a picture in my head of what I would be like as a mature Christian. Since most of my money was paying for a seminary education, you’d better believe I thought a vast biblical knowledge would be a key part of that.

My experience is that God often has something else in mind from what we imagine. In fact, it’s hard for us to predict what God’s destination will be for us.

I think seminary was a really important part of my growth, but it wasn’t the decisive factor I thought it would be. So far as I can tell, the most significant moments of my Christian growth have always been tied directly to learning how to pray or meet with God.

My biblical knowledge was important, but these moments of meeting with God drove that truth home.

Life is a careful balancing act of doing what we believe God has called us to do, while remaining flexible to his leading and his new destinations. Perhaps faithfulness is the art of being flexible with the results and clinging to God alone.

Ten years since I entered seminary, I am at a completely different place in life than I would have expected. I have no complaints, but it has been humbling to watch some of my plans and goals crumble. However, in holding to my plans loosely, I’ve learned there is joy to be found in the new places God calls us to.

We should pursue whatever it is that God places on our hearts, but it’s equally important to let go of our chosen destinations if God chooses to send us elsewhere. Life is this constant process of letting go of one thing in order to embrace another only to find that you will soon need to let go of the new thing in order to embrace another.

On and on it goes.

We’ll get beat up and frustrated if we make our lives about the things we’re aiming for rather than God. This is a lesson in the Kingdom. Christ is all and in all, and we have nothing without him.