Enjoy Your Journey

By Alyn E Waller

Life is more than a series of unrelated happenings. It is a journey--an exodus from sin and selfishness to the promised land of a deeper relationship with God. Join Pastor Waller as he follows in the footsteps of Moses and the children of Israel, in the journey of growth we all must take.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CLC Publications
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781619580978

Book preview

ONE

The Seasons of Life

An ancient maze-like pattern called the labyrinth has been used for centuries by Christians and non-Christians alike as a meditational device. The most well-known labyrinth is found at Chartres Cathedral in France. It is a series of curved pathways; you begin on the outside and walk to the center, then walk back out. As you walk the labyrinth, you pray and meditate. Many people have reported that as they have walked the labyrinth they have had visions or received answers to their problems. It is a very interesting practice.

There are many Christian churches that use the labyrinth as a meditational device. There are evangelical groups that have developed a procedure of walking a labyrinth that is specifically Christ-centered. Some believers are concerned that this practice is syncretistic—that Christians should not use this because of its pagan connections. It is a religious tradition that predates Christianity, and there is the potential for those who practice it to place more emphasis on the walk than on the One to whom they are praying. Whatever you believe about this tradition, one thing that makes walking a labyrinth so powerful is that it is a strong metaphor for the reality that life is a journey.

Life Is a Journey

Life is not a series of non-sequiturs, not a bunch of unrelated happenings. You are on a journey, and as soon as you realize that, you will have a whole new perspective on your present situation.

Once you realize that you are on a journey, life begins to take on new meaning. When you begin to accept that all things have purpose, and that experiences come and go in our lives for a reason, you can learn how to say, This too will pass. I have learned to ask myself, What can I learn from this experience? I have become more patient with others, knowing that since I am on a journey others must be on journeys as well. Since I am not the author of my journey or the journey of anyone else, I cannot be judgmental about where others are on their journey. Maybe we are on similar journeys but at different points along our way, and so, instead of being judgmental, maybe I ought to encourage others along the way.

Recognizing life as a journey helps me to avoid getting stuck in any particular moment of life. I can enjoy the moment, but I shouldn’t get stuck in the moment. I can hate the moment, but I should not let the moment define me forever. It is God’s intention that you enjoy your journey; you really are supposed to enjoy life. There is something wrong with always being angry and always being distressed. If you let everything that happens to you rock your world, you are in for a rocky existence! Bless God, even in difficult times. Doing this is possible only if we understand that we are on a journey, and the journey is the will of God for our lives.

The book of Ecclesiastes helps me to understand life as a journey. Ecclesiastes 3:1–12 is a passage of Scripture that even many non-Christians have heard before. It says,

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives.

Solomon is the traditionally agreed-upon author of the book of Ecclesiastes. His authorship does raise a question in my mind, however. The eleventh chapter of First Kings says that Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord in his later years. Why would God allow the wisdom of someone who did evil in His sight to be included in the Bible?

When you read Ecclesiastes, it seems to ring of pessimism and cynicism. It almost reads as if Jerry Seinfeld wrote the book! Solomon says things like, What happens to the man who works hard all his life? And what happens to the man who doesn’t work hard at all? They both die. He writes things like, The race isn’t given to the swift or the battle to the strong, and we add, but to those that endure to the end. But when he wrote it, what he really meant was, Life doesn’t make sense—the fastest person doesn’t win the race; the strongest person doesn’t win the fight. All is vanity; everything is meaningless. In a sense, Solomon is saying that nothing is worth living for; nothing is worth doing.

Solomon concludes the book