And I won't sit back, and take this anymore, I'm done with that, I've got one foot out the door.
And to go back to where I was would just be wrong. I'm pressing on."
-Relient K
For some reason, there is always a temptation to go back to where we came from. Maybe it's because we are creatures of habit. Perhaps it is simply that we enjoy being comfortable. Change is uncomfortable. Alterations to who we are, are uncomfortable. Sure, we say that we embrace the change. We say that we want the change to come, so that we can experience something new, but, when the change occurs, we meet it with apprehension and timidity. Well, maybe you're different than I am, but there have been numerous instances in my life that I have told God that I needed a change, and He will oblige me, and my situation changes, and I don't understand exactly what He's doing, so then I start to get unnerved. Usually when I'm asking Jesus to change my situation, I have a list of parameters set up, that I would really prefer He operate in so that the "change" that I want would be as absolutely comfortable as possible.
So here's the main point, if we are continually going back to where we came from in our walks with Christ, we will never grow. Growing is sometimes painful. Sometimes, we see the uncomfortable situations that God puts us in as punishment, when really, we are uncomfortable because of the fact that we are actually growing. Sometimes, in the growing stages in our own lives, we have gone through a growth spurt, and there is pain involved, because our bodies are trying to adjust to the change of structure.
When we came to Jesus, and accepted His life and forgiveness, He began us on a journey. Paul calls Him the "author and perfecter of our faith." While we are on this journey, there are obstacles. Sometimes there are roadblocks that have to be cleared or hurtled in order for us to keep going. It's always easier to go back to where you've already been. Being in a familiar place brings comfort. But, sometimes familiarity is absolutely not what Christ wants for you. Sometimes, He wants to be absolutely spontaneous and shake up everything that you thought you knew.
In the summer of 2012, our youth group went to the Desperation Conference in Colorado Springs. On the way home, we stopped at Seven Falls. It's a beautiful place, but in order to get up to the top of the falls, you have to climb hundreds of stairs. I'm definitely not in the most incredible shape in the world, but I figured I could totally handle it. I was very wrong. I barely made it to the top of the last flight of stairs, but when I got to the very top, I was absolutely glad that I had made it there. It would have been much easier to just go back down the steps and wait for the group to come back. However, if I wouldn't have kept pressing on toward the goal, which was the top of the last set of steps, I would have absolutely missed out on something spectacular.
Jesus is always trying to take us up, on, and over. He is leading the way, but He will also allow us to go back to where we have already been if we really push for it. He also knows, that if we really and truly keep following Him and pressing through everything that He is taking us through, our lives will be much more fulfilled in the end. So, let's embrace the change. Let's journey on with Him leading us. Let's not go back to where we were, but let's keep pressing on. Then, we, like Paul can say that we "fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith."
It's a beautiful adventure that we get to take part in. I recently began re-reading my all time favorite book, The Hobbit. In this book, hobbits are a group of people that are quite content with never having anything exciting happening. They are quite fond of knowing everything that will happen, and they absolutely do not like adventures. Well, the main character, Bilbo, allows himself to be dragged out on an adventure to find some buried treasure and to fight a dragon. In the end, everything winds up being a great story. He regrets going on the adventure when things are going wrong, but in the end, he comes home with a vast treasure, and one of the greatest stories ever.
Let us not be so content with staying comfortable that the journey God wants us to go on scares us out of following Him. I pray that we would all have the desire to follow Jesus wherever it is that He takes us. That when our friends who are okay with staying in one spot in their faith ask us what we're doing, we can answer them, "I'm going on an adventure!"
I hope this encouraged you. Keep pressing on to the goal. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus, and you will be able to face any and every obstacle in your path. You might even find yourself on the adventure of a life time, changing the world. Our God is not boring, and I don't believe He wants our faith to be boring either. Have a great day, and be blessed!
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