Faith for Life’s Journey #1

Divine Guidance, Delivering Power, Delightful Living, Dauntless Hope

I dedicate this blog to all those who want to know the right kind of faith in the midst of a cacophony of confusing voices, and then walk the path of excellent faith through life and into a glorious eternity.

Thomas F. Leake, Pastor-Teacher, Hope Bible Church

DISCOVERING FAITH

Dynamic Faith Pt. 1

I love adventure and discovery, especially when our family has the opportunity to vacation to a new destination. As the day approaches the home is filled with anticipation as we dream about traveling to new places, seeing amazing sights, walking on unknown terrain, and experiencing different parts of the country. One of our favorite family habits, having grown up in the densely trafficked Washington D.C. area, is to head out on the interstate highway early in the morning, well before sunrise, and before the rush hour traffic forces the first leg of our trip into a frustrating crawl. Getting out before the commuter masses take over the road gives us a freeing feeling as we hit the open highway unimpeded, wind on the face, zipping along to our new destinations ahead. The morning air is crisp, the car is neatly packed, the family is all nestled in comfy-like, prayers are sent up to heaven for protection, and off we go – to … ah, well … who knows what lies ahead! That’s part of the adventure of it all. We’re off to new discoveries!

Journeys are exciting! We get to leave the mundane work and routines behind; new horizons, with new activities are now set in our sights. And it’s wonderful when it actually works out that way. It’s thrilling when a vacation goes as planned. Yet  …. we all know by experience that some of our travel plans hardly go like that. Smooth travel? Not exactly! There are often bumps in the road – literally. Sometimes the car breaks down. Essential items are forgotten at home despite all checks on the packing lists. Road construction zones with their dreaded orange signs posted on both sides, cause wearisome delays and complaints from the kids,  “How much longer, Dad?.” Hidden fees slap us in the wallet early at unexpected places. Advanced reservations (those carefully made reservations) get complicated with computer glitches or that new guy behind the counter who doesn’t know what he is doing. (Oh, where is the manager when you need her!) Obnoxious people, as if by some strange appointment, come bounding across your path at the worst time – just as you reach that relaxing beach cabana and luxury chair. And then there is the much needed nice weather. Oh, couldn’t at least that cooperate! Alas, the clouds have prevailed, and the first day has a rain delay. You are stuck inside – waiting or making new plans! But, hey! That’s what goes with adventures, right!. We can’t control everything, and if we could, it would hardly be an adventure. Some things you only get to discover after you arrive!

Life itself is a journey – a long one!  Many of us might not think of it that way, but it really is an ongoing adventure. It has a launch date (birth), a long road to travel (life) and a final destination (death or what lies beyond the grave). And everyone travels the road of life, yet paradoxically no one’s road looks exactly the same. Everyone also travels at the same pace, for no one can speed time up or slow the clock down. Furthermore, everyone keeps moving in the same direction – forward, because no one has ever figured out how to turn around and head backwards. Onward we all drive down the road of life!

What makes it more adventurous is that no one starts with a life-map or written guarantees about what lies beyond their immediate sight. (At least I haven’t heard of anyone who has!) No one can see around the next bend much less over the mountains and to the very end of the journey. Everyone has to travel on new terrain – a path they have never traveled before, through forests and canyons; meadows and swamps; deserts and rolling hills, steep climbs and swift downhills – so to speak. And you don’t get to rush the journey either. Everyone must move along life’s pathway step-by-step, mile-by-mile, scene-by-scene, no one can jump or pole-vault ahead. There are no time-travel machines or airlift helicopters to transport us 10 years ahead. And reminding us how serious a journey life is, there are no exits along the way. What kind of a journey has no exits until you get to the end? Life! Your Life!

Yes, life is a journey, but you may have noticed, life is not a journey any of us asked for. Did you ask for it? I didn’t either. But it is one we will all take together – and there are no exceptions. Indeed we are all on the road of life right now. So the important question – really the most important question for you and me, is how will we travel that road? Admittedly there are times we will wonder what it is all about, what the destination might be, and if the journey is really worth the time and effort. Let’s be honest. The journey can be rugged. We will have conflicting emotions about our lives and the direction they are going.

Some of our journeys will prove to be short, steep, and rocky; others will seem long, flat, and meandering. Some routes will seem like they led to an off-road swampy mud pit through which we have to trudge with great labor; other paths will seem to send us rolling along unimpeded, like a free-bird with no worries. Some paths will head suddenly into violent rock slides; others will have us sailing along down the shady lane. Some highways will seem to lead to a dead end – totally confusing and bamboozling. And some roads will head into surprising switch backs as we ascend a really tough climb, but a climb which yields great sights we would not have seen otherwise. Yes, there are manifold paths and adventures on the road of life.

And as we travel along, the journey will change us. We won’t remain the same. The events we face will influence and mold us. Some of these encounters will scare us to the core of our being. Some will capture our imagination and lay hold of our soul. And some will bring happiness and satisfaction. Most of us will face at least some unexpected twists, difficult hurdles, and perplexing forks in the road. At those forks in the road we will face crucial decisions – which is the right way to go? These tight spots and predicaments will force us to choose what we desire and what we truly believe. They will determine what we face down the road we choose. Who we listen to, and who we trust will influence which way we go. The people we travel with and meet will prove persuasive to the direction we choose to turn our vehicle.

Because of all these life-journey realities, you might have realized by now that we need some help along with us to guide the way and make the journey better. We need a proper guidance system. We need reliable protection. We need proper traveling gear. We need a ticket guaranteeing our final destination – to make sure the long journey proves worth it in the end. And for life, that gear is a beautiful, reliable commodity called … Faith!  Faith is that trust and confidence in that Someone reliable to get you where you need to go. Faith is needed for the long journey ahead. Wise and happy is the person who discovers faith early, and brings this special traveling companion along for all of life’s journey. Especially blessed is he who possesses faith in the end.

This blog is about faith and its powers, benefits, advantages, saving graces, along with its misunderstandings, misstatements, and misuses. Faith is a needed dynamic on the road of life, but many don’t yet recognize that. So next time we will continue to explore the amazing dynamics of faith followed by future posts where we also hope to explore some of the deterrents or roadblocks to faith. Eventually we will get to some descriptions of faith and the practice of faith.

So read, ponder, and enjoy “Faith for Life’s Journey”. Stop back in weekly for the next episode. My prayer of faith for you is to discover faith, grow in faith, and become dauntless in your practice of true faith. There truly is no topic of life with farther reaching consequence!