Journey4Jesus
Praying Gods Word in all areas of life… The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
NAVIGATING OUR FUTURE… Where should I set my GPS?
I’m at a Crossroads, which way do I go?
Where we were…
When I initially wrote this journey entry, we had gone through multiple housing changes learning to surrender our plans to the Lord and trust in what He had for us. This was not an easy task, until we are faced with losing something we really have no idea how tightly we hang onto it.
In our case it was our business… our home… the condo we moved into from the home… the townhouse we house -sat when we moved out of our RV… where we would go as we now sensed the winds of change blowing again.
As well, on top of all of this we were in the beginning surges of a pandemic racing around the globe. I can honestly say that there were more questions than answers. Rather than clarity our lives and the world around us looked cloudier than ever.
What we were soon to discover is that God was not done with us just yet, all the while He was still inching us forward to the plans the He had for us, plans we would not have chosen on our own, but plans that would eventually bring us peace and joy…
Journal Entry:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your Word. Thank you for using the most unique verses at the most inexplicable times to teach me something new. I sensed You drawing my eyes to a picture on the wall. My eyes landed on the verse from Jeremiah. What are you showing me here Lord?
So, I prayed, “show me what you are trying to teach me”. From there, I opened my bible to Jeremiah 6:16. On the surface this verse seemed pretty simple. Yet after prayer and contemplation, You started to show me a depth I had not seen before. Four words in particular were jumping out at me: “Says” – “Stand” – “Look” – “Ask”. What are you showing me Lord?
So I started with the word Says, the verse started with “This is what the Lord says”. The word itself tells me someone was speaking and when someone is speaking I should be listening. What do you want to say to me Lord?
The next word was Stand, again the verse I’m reading said “stand at the crossroads and look”. In Jeremiah’s time, the Israelites were charging ahead with their own lives, leaving God completely out of the picture and out of their lives… here, I believe it was intended as a warning, so what should I be watching out for?
After much reflection, I believe You are showing me that the phrase “Stand at the crossroads and Look” are actually two very specific things I need to do. First I need to stop and be still. I need to soak in my surroundings and reflect upon all that is happening around me. I think You are saying to me, don’t blindly charge ahead, take a moment and assess the situation. it’s this assessing that leads into Look. Am I gathering the necessary information I need before proceeding safely? (I actually visualized being in my car at a 4-way stop). I had to look in all directions, know which car came 1st, 2nd, 3rd , and which turn was mine. I had to pay attention that no other car would start to go out of turn, as I made my way safely through the intersection).
Is my vision limited to what is only right in front of me, or am I simultaneously focusing on what is farther up the road? Yes, I know that up ahead are more crossroads that I will need to assess the same way but I don’t need to focus too much on them yet, after all You told us “not to worry about tomorrow, as it will have enough worries of its own”. I believe I am starting to discern Your voice in this Jesus.
Next the verse says to Ask, “ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is”. I am so thankful for prayer, where we can so easily come before You Jesus and ask the necessary questions we have in life. Thank you that we can seek wisdom and discernment from You. Am I seeking that wisdom Lord? Am I seeking wisdom from the godly people you place upon my path?
Then just as suddenly as you opened my eyes to these four words, you opened my eyes further to a 5th. How had I missed this word Lord? And instantly I knew you were teaching me an important lesson here that I would have totally missed out on had I not stopped, listened and asked.
Over the last few years on this journey Lord, I have been earnestly focusing on these 4 basic truths. Apparently this is not the only verse in the bible that shares these truths… in fact they are scattered everywhere throughout the Gospels as we learn to follow you.
Lord, You have been faithfully teaching me to Listen – to Stop and reflect (watching and looking for obstacles ahead). I have prayed regularly for wisdom… I have asked. waited, only to start the process over again.. always hitting repeat at the end, waiting for some kind of green light in the distance to signal for me that its time to move.
Yet today Lord, you showed me a single solitary word that I had been missing. The word Walk, ” and walk in it”. That there comes a time that we must Walk… walk in what we have learned from You in the previous four steps. In essence, we must take responsibility for our future. We must move forward or risk getting stuck in the crossroads of that intersection, thereby getting caught in the crossfire of what has been and what could be…
Thank you Lord Jesus for showing me your Truth and granting me your wisdom once again. Yes, we are required to take our time and complete our due diligence, but we also need to make a choice to actively move or walk into the direction you are revealing. Your Words tells us that You will shine a light upon our path. Forgive me Father, for waiting for the giant teleprompter or some kind of spiritual GPS to show up and confirm my route.
Help me Jesus, to move forward in confidence, trusting in the time I have invested in Your Word and our relationship, seeking Your Will and Your face. Help us Father to forgive ourselves for our past mistakes and step boldly into the future You have for us.
In Jesus name ❤️ Amen
Where we Are…
Within mere weeks of writing this journal entry and prayer above, we found ourselves involved in a flood deployment. As I mentioned above we felt the winds of change but had no idea what that meant, now on top of our own circumstances (which still included a pandemic) we are ministering to people in a Northern community who have lost everything in the floods.
Serving in these capacities always has a way of humbling a person, and puts things into a new and different perspective. Fast forward a year and a half, and we are now living a 30 minute drive from this same community, still serving the people in the recovery process.
How did that happen you ask? Well let me explain; After returning home from the initial deployment, we were asked if we would consider moving up North for a 1 year contract to work with the Recovery program. I’d love to say we jumped at the opportunity. but that would be a bold faced lie. We had our own plans that we were praying God would open the door.
Yet, after some reflection and a friendly reminder to re-read what God had been teaching me, we came to realize that this was our time to “Walk”… to walk in the path that He had for us. We had been praying regularly that we would have a fresh start and be able to serve together, yet when the opportunity came we almost missed it, because we were still focused on our wants vs. Gods purpose.
My Final Thoughts & Encouragement:
So where are you on this roadmap of life? Are you cruising along with the sun shining down and the wind in your hair. Or maybe you’re gripping the steering wheel trying to keep the car on the road with the rain pelting down so it is impossible to see what’s in front of you… Or maybe, you’re like me stuck at the crossroads, afraid to drive forward for fear of being T-boned in the intersection.
Maybe this Covid has you grounded in fear; leaving you with far more questions than there are answers. Vaccine mandates and potential passports are causing deep division in our Churches, our workplaces and even our homes.
I encourage you to take a deep breath, to stop and listen to the Father, hear what He is saying to you today. Spend time seeking His face, which will eventually reveal His plan to you. Keep your eyes on him, looking forward rather than in the rear view mirror, and Ask Him to be on the path with you, to grant you the wisdom you need and the courage to walk in it… then Walk, obediently move forward one foot in front of the other, trusting in His wisdom and strength to guide you.
I believe fear is what keeps us stuck in one place for so long. Fear on the unknown… fear of failure… But Gods Word tells us that “perfect Love casts out ALL fear”. Join me in moving forward empowered by the amazing Love of our Heavenly Father, He loves us so much and he has good plans for us, His Word is full of His promises … choose to walk in that today.
Blessings, Janet❤️. Journey4Jesus
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Journey4Jesus 