The Journey of 1,000 miles begins with ...

I don’t know about you, but I have a problem with traveling. If there’s not much for me to do on the trip, I find myself wishing someone would have developed a transporter already so I could just beam from spot to spot instantly. I know my target destination, and I want to be there already. That’s why I travel with a laptop, iPod, books, anything to help me get my mind off the travel so I don’t focus on being “stuck,” especially in an airplane. (At least with driving there’s more to see, radio to play, and you can stop whenever you want to get out and stretch – especially important since I’m 6’4”.) On long trips on planes you find things to do to keep your mind off the lack of space to really stretch out the legs. On long trips by car I usually plan to have the time to stop whenever I feel like it, see sights, that sort of thing. Whatever it takes to break the monotony of travel. I would much rather instantly be there and skip the whole travel thing, but since we can’t do that yet, I manage.

What about living the Christian life? We know what our final destination is, and we know where we should be each day. Often we stop and ask ourselves how we’re doing. If you’re like me, it’s easy sometimes to be so focused on the destination that I forget that the trip isn’t as much about the destination as it is the journey to get there. Let me illustrate. A couple of years ago I drove with several folks from my church to New York on a mission trip. Pensacola, FL, to Matla, NY, is about 1400 miles, one way. 10 people in a church van pulling a trailer. Loads of fun. No, really. Well, loads of time sitting in a van with not much to do. Enough to make you go crazy if you’re not careful. Be fair. Think about the last time you drove on a trip that took 2 days hard driving. Remember? How do you make it that far without going crazy? I mean, on the road things begin to look the same mile after mile. One mile of pavement looks pretty much the same an any other mile. How do you acknowledge your progress? You establish goal points. It might be mile markers where some event happened to you on a previous trip or a city or exit that you like to take that has your favorite gas station or restaurant. It might be those all important rest areas for, you know, resting. Anyway, you approach the trip as a whole, but you break it down into smaller pieces so you can gauge how far you’ve gone and how far you have to go. That’s how you make it through a long trip.

The same is true with the Christian life. If you are so focused on the destination that you don’t have those intermediate win points to celebrate, you can find yourself feeling defeated or discouraged. And that’s the exact opposite of how our God of wonder desires us to live. The old saying goes that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step, and that’s true. Sometimes, though, I wish it continued to say that it begins with a single step … after step … after step … until you get there. We live in an age when everything is instant: microwaves to cook food faster, drive-thrus at restaurants, faster and faster internet, instant messaging – face it, our whole world in America is about getting it faster, bigger, better. If we apply that thinking to our Christian lives, though, we’ll find ourselves frustrated that we aren’t where we know we should be. And frustration can lead to discouragement, which can lead to defeat and surrender, an acceptance of where we are and a lack of desire to move forward. God never wants that life for us. He desires us to live in wonder and awe of Him, in victory and peace, full of hope. That’s why we’re encouraged to remember the things God has done for us and share them with others – so we see the victories we’ve had that fuel our passion and desire to keep moving forward, those victories that remind us of the greatness of God and drive our worship of Him.

Proverbs 3:18 (NCV) tells us that the way of the good (righteous) person is like the light of dawn, growing brighter and brighter until full daylight. If we see the full daylight at our destination (heaven with God), then our walk should constantly be moving towards full light. What our walk can’t do is go backward, towards more darkness, but move ever forward, little by little, until we reach the fullness of day. Think about the last time you watched the sun come up. It wasn’t like a cartoon, dark one second and full daylight the next, rather, it gradually got brighter, almost so slowly that you missed it unless you happened to close your eyes for a second to remember the previous moment, then open them again to see how much brighter the world was. It’s the gradual, continual movement forward that gets us to our final destination, and we must see the journey as a series of steps, not an instantaneous leap.

How do we keep going forward, then, when faced with a journey that seems to take so long? Proverbs 3 gives some more advice. Verse 25 encourages us to keep our focus on the things that are right, to look straight ahead at what is good, to stay on that path, always moving forward, and not to follow the rabbit trails and evil paths along the way that try to distract us (v.27). In other words, we keep our focus squarely on the One who is the embodiment of good, and we remember all the good that He has done. We remember that while there are times when we can’t seem to see the sky getting brighter, as long as we stay on the path that leads to Him we can’t help but experience brighter skies the farther we go. We have to help those around us, encouraging them as well in their journey, for the reality is that as God followers we are all headed in the same direction towards the same destination. We never travel alone. God is always with us, and so are all those who follow Him as we do. We have a responsibility to each other to encourage and support and even celebrate with each other as we move forward, step by step, towards that final destination, the fullness of daylight, the throne room of God. We have to keep taking steps forward.

So, don’t give up, don’t get discouraged if while you’re moving forward you aren’t where you think you should be in your Christian walk. Remember that you are on a long trip, and set up markers for yourself so you can gauge constant forward movement. Take the time to remember what God has done, reflect in wonder of Him, so you can see that the sky is indeed getting brighter, the mile markers are actually getting higher and higher in number, the destination closer and closer. Celebrate each and every victory along the way, being careful to always give thanks and praise to the One Who gives you the victories. And keep stepping forward, from step 1 to step 1,000,001, knowing that each step brings you closer home.

Shock and Awe

Remember the campaign the military used during the beginning of the last war in Iraq? It's purpose was to be so terrible and complete that the enemy would be in shock and awe and be more inclined to surrender peacefully when faced with the potential desctructive force of the US military. Seemed to do a pretty good job at the time, too. We took Baghdad in record time and overthrew a tyrant. What happened after the "shock and awe" burned off, though? Those inclined to cause trouble got over the wonder and awe of the display of force and returned to their normal way of life, which in turn sent chaos and panic and pain across that nation as well as its affect on our own. What, you ask, does this have to do with worship? Glad you asked.

Let’s start the discussion by remembering. Do you remember the last time you came face to face with God, not in a casual, “Hey, it’s nice to see you” kind of way, but more of a “knock you on the seat of your pants, blow your mind” kind of way? Did you find yourself marveling in wonder and awe at the God Who had moved in such a powerful way? Out of that sense of wonder, something in you changed. At least for that moment, you existed in pure worship, giving God glory. Your thoughts changed, your actions changed, your mind changed. You had to go tell someone, you couldn’t keep it bottled up inside. And, if you’re honest, if you look back you can see how what you did during that time was different. You acted with joy and peace in your heart because God had become very real and very personal with you. What happened when that moment wore off, when things “got back to normal?” When what happened became more memory than existence? Does God seem as real now? Do you think of Him and His desire for your life as much as you did before?

We live in an age when we are bombarded by the “wonderful” and “incredible” every day. Technological advancements promise us bright, healthy futures and easier lives. Movies have developed to the point of being able to make fantasy look real. Commercials entice us at every turn with offers that, should we take them, promise the world. Reality, however, gives a different picture. Poverty and sickness run rampant around the globe. Personal debt runs at an all-time high. More people are on medication for stress and psychological issues now than ever before. Enough to make the best of us doubt the truth of the promises from media, government and technology we see around us. It becomes easy to be focused on ourselves and what will happen to us – we’re constantly blasted by information coming in from every angle, most either declaring that the world we’re comfortable with (as we know it) is all about to come crashing down around us or carrying the reports of the actions of evil people in our neighborhoods and around the world. Cynicism and sarcasm run rampant, shaping how we view the world and everything around us. Not much really causes us to stop all activity and sit in true awe any more, does it?

How often do we treat our Christian lives that way, living day to day trying to figure out how we’re going to make it, often never giving God another thought? At the same time, in the middle of all the hustle, isn’t there a voice in our heads crying out that life with God should be different than this, a longing to see God work in miraculous ways and to experience Him in deeper and more fulfilling ways?

Question. How often do you find yourself in awe of God? When was the last time you stopped in simple wonder of Who He is? Do you find yourself desperately seeking to spend as much time with Him as you possibly can, desiring to know Him more fully, more deeply than you did the day before? Or, are you satisfied with where you are and have no desire to move forward in your relationship with God? This is where we have to start, with an honest and truthful examination of our motives for living, of where we find our direction and purpose, of whether or not we spend the time necessary to see and be exposed to the wonder of God. Controlled by a passion to know Him – personally, experientially, powerfully – not just content to know about Him. Driven by personal experience of what it means to be in His presence, to hear His voice, to feel His leading and to see Him working. Do we serve Him with every part of our being or do we follow the popular slogans of the day and say the pithy statements about Him that make everyone around us think we are in better shape than we are spiritually? In other words, we actually DO what Jesus would do, not just wear the bracelet. Do we have daily times of private, personal worship, where we find ourselves alone with God, willing to give up whatever it takes to ensure we have those times of worship?

Dr. David Jeremiah wrote a book called My Heart’s Desire: Living every moment in the wonder of worship. In it he speaks of the rewards we gain by living, as he calls it, in the “wonder of worship.” Things like joy, deep, fulfilling joy. The kind that lasts because it’s based on Someone Who lasts, not on our circumstances or our own personal merits. How about being more devoted to God, more deeply connected to Him, your family and friends, and your purpose for living. How about finding yourself more driven to be accomplishing what you’ve been called to do, whether at work, at home, or in ministry? Or, how about finding your faith not just becoming alive and powerful, but staying that way, day after day, as you experience God and all His fullness?

Where do we start? Honestly, with confession and repentance. With an acknowledgement that we are not there, perhaps have not been there for a long time, but that we want to be there and are willing to surrender anything and everything necessary to get there. Until we are able to approach God with complete humility, to be able to say as David did, “Who am I that you would even care the littlest bit for me? I’m nothing. You are everything, and You are everything I need. I want to know You, to live in wonder and awe of Who You are, and am willing to do whatever it takes, to make whatever sacrifices it requires, for me to live this life.” In acknowledging our failure to live every moment in wonder we elevate God to the position He desires to have in our lives, that of being Primary and first. It’s then that He is able to reveal more of Himself, leaving us in wonder and awe, our capacity to worship Him having been expanded.

This is the journey I find myself on. I invite you to join me. The destination? Living every moment in the wonder of worship. Living a life that experiences God the way He desires me to experience Him, being changed by Him, and then changing the world around me because of Him. A life in which the shock and awe never wear off, because we live each day in the wonder of our Creator, our Savior, our King.