Imagine staying on the path God has for you.
Imagine not missing all the places along the way He has planned for you.
And imagine completing all the undertakings He has designed for you.
I want to stay on the route with God instead of roaming aimlessly. Do you want that in your spiritual journey, too?
Roaming in the Unfamiliar
I was on my way back from a ladies retreat one year when I took the wrong exit. It was a complex place to take the wrong exit because I was in the middle of a few different interstate exchanges. It was an unfamiliar place.
If you’ve ever gotten lost, you know the feeling of panic that can come along with it. How I longed for country lanes instead of heavy D.C. Metropolitan traffic in that moment. I called my husband for help. I described where I was, and he stayed on the phone with me for several minutes until I got back on the right road.
It was upsetting and frustrating. It was a waste of time. But it was only a trip. When I think about it in light of eternity, it didn’t matter that I took the wrong exit.
But God doesn’t want you roaming around wasting your spiritual life. He has a path planned for you.
Imagine staying on the path God has for you and completing all He's designed for you. Click To TweetMark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Proverbs 4:26 NLT
Your Journey
Like with any natural journey, you need traveling clothes. Going skiing? You’ll need a ski suit. How about rock climbing? You’ll need proper gear. When you go somewhere, you’ll have luggage, a road map, directions to follow, and you can use landmarks for confirmation along the way.
You can apply this analogy to your walk with God. He has somewhere for you to go! He planned places for you to visit and explore and He planned experiences for you and lessons to learn. With your spiritual journey you have the following:
- Luggage. Those bags are like the sin that Jesus takes away when you become saved, so you can ditch the luggage.
- Traveling clothes. The armor of God is your traveling clothes, which includes both defensive and offensive pieces. See days 2-10 in 40 Days of Daily Bread for exciting truth about that.
- Map. Your Bible is your metaphoric map; memorizing some of it is vital for thriving (Psalm 119:11).
- Directions. God says to obey. Sometimes it’s a struggle.
- Landmarks. You will know that you are going the right way when you see spiritual growth in your life. Your mentor will be able to confirm it in you as well.
Route Versus Roaming
The problem is, sometimes you and I roam off the route God has for us. We are attracted by what seems more appealing at the time. Movies. Shopping. To-do lists. Taking care of our family. Even working.
We are on a journey with God. He has a particular route mapped out for us. Let’s zone in on what He wants for us. God doesn’t want us to be roaming around as we go through life.
Come to Him every day and find out where He wants you to go next. It might be a physical place or a spiritual place. I often wonder if I had asked him what he wanted me to learn, I may not have had to go through the fire to learn it.
Come to #God every day and find out what physical or spiritual place He wants you to go next. Click To TweetStay on Route
How do you stay on the route? By coming to your Guide daily.
Building a habit of spending time with God every day takes some dedication. Once it’s in place, you will thrive on routine. Why? Because it becomes natural. It becomes like second nature. Each day you meet with your Creator, you solidify that habit to a greater degree.
Let’s think about your habit of brushing your teeth. Wait… You do have a habit of brushing them, right? 😉 When you were a little tyke, your parent brushed your teeth for you. Then when you were a little older, you were trained how to do it yourself. Then when you were released to do it yourself, your parent probably asked you every day, “Did you brush your teeth?” All those times, your parent was helping you set the daily habit of teeth brushing. Now, it’s second nature. You do it automatically.
So today, take charge of your spiritual journey. Set the habit of meeting with God daily.
Take charge of your spiritual journey. Set the habit of meeting with God daily. #GodTime Click To Tweet
If you want someone to come alongside and exhort you with encouragement for 21 days to help you build that Daily Time habit, then visit the landing page for the Daily Time Challenge and let’s get started! I would love to be your cheerleader!
Take Charge of Your Spiritual Journey first appeared on kellyrbaker.com.
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Great post! It is so important to cultivate that quiet time with God. It has made such a huge impact in my life! Your course sounds fantastic! Blessings!
Thanks for the compliments, Liz! It’s definitely changed my life as well! Blessings to you!
Thank you for sharing Kelly! I spend daily time with God. Some days I find I need more time with Him as the day progresses. This is certainly true for the days that I seem to take the wrong exit and get lost or begin to “roam.” Roaming can be mentally or physically. Whatever the case, I know He is my guide. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of daily time with God.
Hey, Robin! Isn’t it great that we can keep coming back to His never-ending well of strength? Blessings to you!
I like the link you make between a physical journey and our spiritual journey. When I am travelling to an unfamiliar place, I always take time to look at the map and work out where I’m going and the route I need to take. It’s the same spiritually- we need those times of focus on God and reading his Word to prepare is to take the right route in the day ahead.
Hi, Lesley! May we all take the time to look at the route of our spiritual journey. Blessings!
Ohhh I love the symbolism of the journey you used here Kelly! And I’m with you that DC has to be the most confusing place to drive! (this is why I stay tucked in the country…! haha) It easier to curb the roaming when we come to God daily verses when we go off on our own tangent for far too long. (we tend to end up in some not so pretty places!) And I’m intrigued with your challenge! Some days it’s such a struggle to rise early enough and prep enough the night before so that those A.M tasks don’t eat into my quiet time. Here’s to preparing better for the journey! Hope you are staying cool this summer! ♥
Hey, Heather! I used to live in the country. I miss it. God called us to this area but I don’t go on the interstate unless forced. 😉 I understand crazy mornings all too well so I’m often coming back to God later in the day for more. He gives grace like that. 🙂 Many blessings to you, friend!
This was so good! I love your analogies… I have seen Christian’s who just roam thru life. They think it’s totally fine. It breaks my heart.
It saddens me as well. Everyone is at a different place in their walk with God so I just pray that they would draw near to God. Thanks for your visit today!
Great Post! It’s so important to stay on the road He has for us. Even when we do miss the exit, He knows how to get us back on the right track with GPS precision!
Amen to that! It’s great to see you here, Esther!
I love the thought of staying on God’s path for me, never missing anything he’s planned or wanted for me in life, and doing what he’s called me to with every step. Ahhh…that’s so heavenly! Thanks for the encouragement to seek him daily, trust him, and obey. ❤
He is sweet, isn’t He? Thanks so much for your visit, Laura!
Yes cultivating the habit of spending time in the Word of God is so important! This is, personally, my second year that I am reading through the Bible using a Bible reading plan. The habit/routine of reading the Word is no longer hard at all.
That’s wonderful, Rosanna! Thanks for sharing what you’re using for your Daily Time with God.
That is such a good reminder. Staying in His word and in Prayer keeps us focused on His Will!
Yes it does! Thanks for stopping by!
Great tips for keeping our spiritual journeys on track, Kelly! My morning time with God is the best part of my day! Have a blessed week!
Glad to hear it, June! I hope your weekend is going well. 🙂
I used to live in the DC metro area, so I totally understand getting off on the wrong road!
You’ve shared some useful analogies here. Thanks for the reminder of how important it is to meet with the Lord daily! I know I have a tendency to roam when I miss this time.
So glad to see you here, Shannon! How cool that you used to live here. If you’re ever in the area let me know! 🙂
Love this!! That map is an invaluable resource that we sometimes don’t use for ALL of our travels.
Thanks so much, Christa! We definitely need it!
As someone who spends a lot of time being lost as I’m driving (hopeless with directions) I really loved the analogy you used about keeping to the route God has planned for us on our spiritual journey. Thank you for this encouragement and thank you for linking with Grace and Truth last week. I would love to feature this post on Friday.
Thank you so much, Dawn! I appreciate that! 🙂
I hate getting lost. But, your words are so true. It was only a trip. What a bigger price we pay for being lost eternally.