
There are so many different journeys that we face in our walk with God. Some of them have to deal with our health, some with our rebirth in Him- getting rid of old ways, and some have to deal with relationships. Whatever the case may be, journeys can be hard to face. We don’t know how long they will be, what they will entail, or even what it might look like on the other side. As someone who has walked through a few different journeys with God, here are my 5 best tips on walking through them.
Be Optimistic
As I shared in my Triumph After a Hard Journey post, the Lord told me that I was too pessimistic. Even though I didn’t want to be that way, I found myself being so skeptical about the road ahead. I heard so many people share that things would get better and to not lose hope but to be honest, the more time that passed by I became so negative about my situation.
Don’t do this! Wake up everyday with fresh eyes ready to gracefully make it through the day. Be positive about the road ahead. Stay confident and eager about your promises. Sometimes the journey is short and sometimes it is longer, but every day has purpose and comes with its own beauty, if you choose to see it.
Choose to wake up and see the beauty of everyday life instead of focusing on the negative.
Trust God
God recently told me that I worry too much and if I was worrying, I wasn’t trusting Him. I never realized that my constant thoughts about my situation were coming from a place of worry. This is why we need God to reveal the truth to us. Afterall it is Him who knows what’s in every man’s heart.
" A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart." - Proverbs 21:2
Since God is the one who knows all truth, He is the best one to trust with your journey. Every aspect of your journey and all of the things that you will overcome rest in His hands. Sometimes we can look at our lives and see all of the areas that need to be changed and end up becoming overwhelmed by all of it. God is the one who knows when to bring about change and how to properly do it. We can and should trust Him with everything that we have. It also makes Him happy when we choose to trust in Him.
Keep hope for the future
Going along with being optimistic, always stay hopeful about your future. It can be easy to lose hope when we feel like we have been sidelined and we see other people with the things that we desire. I know for me in my time of being single, the more time that passed without someone I started to lose hope. I got into a place of accepting that where I am today might be where I am forever, even though I said I would never get that way. I thought that once I gained some strength in being hopeful about my future that it would stay forever. But no. I let my guard down because I thought I had it. Then little by little the enemy came in and used people, social media, and my thoughts to bring me back into a place of despair. Stay vigilant against the enemy’s attacks and remain hopeful about the beautiful future ahead.
One of the best things you can do is to learn your triggers like the enemy knows them. If following a specific couple on social media triggers you into feeling sad about your singleness then stop watching them. If talking to a certain friend or family member triggers you back into doubt then limit your conversations with them and remove yourself respectfully when your trigger starts showing up. This is warfare and we have to be as knowledgeable about the weapons used just like the enemy is.
Stay looking ahead
One day when I was walking through one of my favorite parks, I came to a bridge that crossed through the woods. I got a little scared because there were so many noises of animals around me and I was all alone. The Lord gently told me to look ahead. He told me to keep my eyes on what was ahead and to not worry about what was surrounding me. This changed my life.
I was able to apply this message to every area of my life. When the Lord directs us to do something, instead of worrying about all of the conditions around it just focus on that one thing and keep your eyes on Him. Instead of worrying about what other people may think and how they might respond to your obedience, stay looking at Jesus and just obey. Instead of being afraid to step out into your calling, stay looking at Him, and let Him guide you. Would you drive your car forward by looking out of the back window? Only if you want to go backwards. Would you drive forward by only focusing on what was on your left/right side? Only if you want to potentially crash into something ahead and injure yourself or others. It’s the same way with your journey. If you truly want to make progress, then keep your eyes on the Father and He will direct you on where to go and guide you through every obstacle along the way.
"The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." - Psalm 32:8
Do the work
Lastly, you have to do the work! If you want things to change, then you have to do the work. If you want to enter into your Promised Land, then you have to do the work.
The work that the Lord has for us in our journey either deals with helping ourselves or helping other people. Breaking generational curses helps us and our bloodline, but you can only break a curse if you put in the work for it to break. You can only have a successful and Godly marriage, if you do the work of preparing yourself to be a Godly spouse, physically, spiritually, and mentally. Otherwise you will step into your blessing and slowly but surely begin to taint the good fruit in it. It’s like mold on a piece of fruit. One day, it’s just a little bit of mold on that one piece and then the next day the mold has spread to other pieces. In fact it was already spreading, you just didn’t see it yet.
Doing the work also comes with patience. Although it would be nice, transformation doesn't happen overnight. It is the compounding of little things along the way that bring about our full transformation in Christ. Be patient with yourself, be patient with God, and be patient in your situation while the work is being done! And remember this Scripture:
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