Join Me On the Journey

One of the reasons I started writing here was to share with other women about change and how to accomplish change. That is one purpose for writing to you and I strive to keep that in mind as I write.

In order to accomplish lasting change, you must define three things:

1. where you are now
2. where you want to be
3. how you plan to get there

Now, this may sound like I’m telling you to just make up your mind where you want to go and get there no matter what. It may sound as if I’m telling you to forge ahead without seeking God for direction.

Well, I am making some assumptions here.

First of all, I’m assuming that you are a Christian. If you don’t have a relationship with God, the Bible teaches that you can have a relationship with Him by simply acknowledging that Christ died for you to provide for that relationship. There’s nothing magical about it. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” If you want a relationship with God, call on Him and He’s there.

Secondly, I’m assuming that you have a desire to fulfill God’s will for your life. Most of us don’t see a huge, instantaneous change in our lives when we make a decision for Christ. The change occurs gradually over time. But, eventually, most of us reach the point where we think, “I need to figure out what God really wants me to do with my life!” It can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

The Bible is replete with references that reassure you God wants to direct your life. Two of my favorites are:

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Prov 3:5-6 (KJV)

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Ps 37:4-5 (KJV)

Now, when I was a younger Christian, I used to think “He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” meant, “He will give you every little thing your heart desires!” But, I came to realize that passage meant that God would place in my heart the desires that He has for my life…He will make me desire what He wants for me. So, if I’m following Him, I can trust that the things that I want to do are desires that He has placed there.

In other words, if you’re thinking, “If I follow God, He’s going to make me go to the deepest darkest place in Africa and be a missionary and eat worms for dinner,” God doesn’t do that. If you follow God, and He asks you to go to the deepest darkest place in Africa, it will be something that burns in your heart…something you cannot deny.

So, now you are a Christian. You are following God and yet you still feel that you’re not fulfilling the call God has on your life.

First of all, if you don’t have the habit of journaling, I would encourage you to take it up. I suppose there are people who can do these things in their heads, but I’ve never met one. When you read biographies of those who have done exploits for the Lord, you’ll find they kept journals…they wrote it down. There is something powerful about writing down your thoughts, dreams, concerns, and fears.

Start with where you are.

• What has happened in your life until this point?
• How have you reacted?
• How can you use what has happened to benefit others?
• Are you married or single?
• Are you a parent to young children, teen-agers, older children, or all of the above?
• Are you part of a ministry outside your home?
• Do you work outside the home?
• What do you like?
• What do you do well?
• What things “come naturally”?

Look at where you want to be.

• What have you “always wanted to do”?
• If money were no object, how would you live your life differently?
• If you knew you only had a year to live, how would you spend that year?
• What are the things only I can do? (be a mother to my children, for example)

Tomorrow, Lord willing, we’ll look at getting from where you are to where you want to be.

I would encourage you to take a few minutes to figure out where you are. It will take some time, but before you can get to where you want to go, you must know where you are.

God Bless You on Your Journey!

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