When I wrote last month’s Month in Review, I made the statement that I was out of 30-Day Devotionals to highlight so there would be something different this month. At the time, I didn’t realize I would finish my latest 30-Day Devotional “From the Writings of Paul” this month. Still, a sneak peek and a highlight in the same month seems like a bit much, so we’ll stick with the something different plan for this month.
Of all my For the Journey offerings, Sunday School literature is where it all started. I love writing the 30-Day Devotionals and Bible Study Guides. VBS, like children’s Sunday School literature, seemed impossible for a long time but turned out to be a lot of fun for me. But, by far the most outside-my-comfort-zone and challenging offering is the podcast. Sometimes I still can’t believe I ever did that. I prefer to think the fact that there are never enough hours in the day is why episodes have become so sporadic, but I’m honest enough to admit the fact that there’s a big part of me still so uncomfortable with even a massively amateur podcast might be a contributing factor.
Still, I learned a lot from my attempts at podcasting and even had quite a bit of fun with some of the episodes, like the one featured in this highlight. Rather than share the audio again, I opted for sharing my script from Episode 6 (originally released in July of 2021) below. I hope you enjoy giving it a read instead of a listen this time if you caught it back in 2021 or enjoy it for the first time if not!
For the Journey Podcast
Episode 6: When the Journey’s Long
Welcome back to For the Journey Podcast. If you’ve by chance caught every episode, then you may remember that I’ve mentioned this unfinished episode a couple of times. God kept changing my plans, and His are far better than mine. Plus, it just wasn’t coming together. But…I’m really excited today because this is finally that episode. And, it seems completely appropriate that this episode was a longtime coming because, today, we’re discussing “When the Journey’s Long.”
Not counting a few overnight church trips, my family went on one real, honest-to-goodness, week-long vacation. One. And, I could tell you it’s because my Dad is so not a traveler, which is true. (I’m not much of one either honestly.) I could tell you it’s because cows are hard to leave unattended and summers are busy if you farm. Also true. I could tell you we almost never missed Sundays at our church with Dad being the pastor. That’s true as well. But, I’m pretty sure it might have had something to do with the trip.
We went to Fenton, Michigan, because my Mom had an aunt who lived there. We drove. In case you weren’t aware, that’s an 18-hour trip both ways. We made said 18-hour trip in a 1995 sea-mist green Mercury Sable that came to be dubbed The Green Machine and at times The Green Monster much later on when my siblings and I all had the pleasure of learning to drive in it. My siblings and I were little. Like—“Are we still in Arkansas? What state are we in? Is it time to eat? Are we there yet? I’m hungry. How much farther? I can’t hold it…”—kind of little. We also took my Mom’s sister, meaning we had a total of six people in a car that would seat six for 18 hours. And, as my Dad put it at my aunt’s funeral, my Mom and her sister had a “Tom and Jerry relationship.” Trapping them in a car together for 18 hours wasn’t exactly ideal… Suffice it to say, the journey was long…so long…
About 45 minutes away from our final destination on the way up there, we made one last stop for gas. As we attempted to leave the gas station, The Green Machine decided to become The Green Monster and started dinging like vehicles do when the keys are in the ignition and the door’s open. The problem was: None of the doors were open. We checked. And then we checked again. We checked the trunk. That wasn’t open either. We couldn’t find a cause for the dinging, nor could we get it to stop. So, we listened to it…for the remaining 45 minutes of the trip, also known as the longest 45 minutes of my childhood.
We did finally arrive at our destination, and the next time we started the car, the dinging had stopped. Still, the four or five days we spent in Michigan were not nearly enough to make me ready to repeat that trip. And, we took a slightly different route home—not exactly on purpose if you catch my drift. It wasn’t any shorter…
Sometimes, our journey can feel like our trip to Michigan. Sometimes, it feels like it takes forever to get where we’re going. Sometimes, there are unplanned stops and detours. Sometimes, it’s filled with frustrations that make it feel even longer, sort of like that 45 minutes of incessant dinging… Sometimes, it feels like we’re just never going to get where we’re going.
Turning to Scripture, David was anointed to be the next king of Israel because God had rejected Saul at about age 15. He became king of Judah only at age 30 and didn’t become king of all Israel and Judah for another seven years and six months. The journey from shepherd boy to king of Israel was long…
Still, David stayed the course. And, it wasn’t an easy course. It was a course that included having King Saul flinging javelins at him. It was a course that meant being separated from his family and homeland on the run from Saul. It was a course that included danger at every turn, whether from Saul or from the Philistines or other Israelite enemies. And, I highly doubt David saw all that coming when Samuel anointed him. But, David stayed the course. If you read 1 Samuel, you’ll never find where he told God, “I know you’ve called me to be king of Israel one day and all, but this is getting rough, and I’d rather go back to keeping sheep” or anything to that effect. Day by day, he continued on the journey.
Likewise, when our journey is long, we have to stay the course. In my life, I was 17 when I knew God’s calling on my life was writing Sunday School literature. The journey from that night to actually doing it was long, and the three years spent at Bible College composed the longest stretch of it. They were fraught with car trouble, homesickness, roommate and church changes, hard goodbyes, a few courses I frankly didn’t care much for, etc., etc. I thought of quitting almost every day and came dangerously close on one occasion, like had the email open about to cancel my appointment with my advisor to decide on courses for the next semester close. But, words cannot express how grateful I am that I stayed the course. The diploma itself means nothing to me. I honestly didn’t look at it close enough to know if my name is spelled right before handing it to my Mom, and I don’t even know where it is. As crazy as this sounds, it was never about getting an education. (I was sick of getting an education by fourth-grade.) For me, it was about whether I really meant it when I gave my life to the Lord? Did I really mean I would follow His directions no matter how I felt about them on my journey through this life? So, it’s knowing I didn’t willfully step out of God’s will for my life when sorely tempted to do so and that He brought me through that phase of my journey that means everything. In your life, whether it’s the journey to fulfilling your calling or the journey out of a particular struggle, stay the course. Walk with God day by day through it no matter how long the journey takes or what it holds.
Perhaps one of the biggest things that stands out to me about David’s journey from shepherd to king is just how much he trusted God’s timing. David knew God would put him on the throne when God wanted him on the throne. On two occasions, David could have killed King Saul and ended his time on the run and seemingly fast-tracked his journey to the throne. He didn’t even have to do it himself. His men were willing. He could keep his hands clean so to speak and just say the word. But, David trusted God’s timing. He walked in righteousness. Even though the journey had been long and would be longer, David trusted God and His timing.
Impatient creatures that we are, it’s hard for us to do that. But, it’s far better for us to trust God’s timing when the journey stretches long before us than to get ourselves in a mess by trying to take matters into our own hands, by acting without prayerful consideration. That opportunity that may seem like the perfect way to shorten our journey to our desired destination may not be in God’s will. It may be as wrong for us as killing King Saul would have been for David.
During David’s long journey from young shepherd to king, he also grew. God used this long journey to transform him into a king. He, no doubt, grew spiritually. Just check out some of the psalms he wrote in this time. He also became an experienced leader and warrior. His long journey wasn’t without purpose. It was training for what was ahead. Similarly, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without the growth that took place during my long Bible College days. Not at all. So, when your journey stretches out long before you, know that there’s a purpose for it, and focus on growth. Grow spiritually. Grow in knowledge. Grow as a person. Grow in patience and endurance. Just grow.
To recap a bit, when your journey, whether that’s your journey through life in general or whether it’s your journey toward achieving a God-given goal, living His call on your life, starting up a new ministry, or whatever it might be, when it seems to stretch on and on and on, when it includes delays, when it takes you in a direction you didn’t see coming that doesn’t prove to be a shortcut, stay the course. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Trust God’s timing. Don’t rush. And, grow. Leave that phase of your journey better and stronger and most importantly closer to God than you were before.
Thanks for listening to what I’m pretty sure has been my longest episode so far. Fitting I guess. Oh, and should you decide to vacation to Michigan, do yourself a favor, fork over the money and fly. Have a good week, and God bless.
For the Journey Literature 