Is your journey with the Savior savored?
You might have read in a recent Pathway about some of the changes that have taken place with respect to our weekly chapel service for staff here in Jefferson City. David Tolliver has been encouraging those who share in chapel to share their story regarding their pilgrimage with the Savior.
It has been an incredibly encouraging time to hear how God is working in the lives of many of my friends and co-workers. Of course, it has given me pause to think about my own journey with the Savior.
Rather than giving you a lot of details, let me simply say that my Lord has taken me on quite an adventure over the years. As a good friend of mine used to say, “God has taken me places that I never thought I would go, introduced me to people I never expected to meet, and accomplished things in and through my life that I never thought possible.”
If you would take a few moments to examine your own faith journey, don’t you think you might have a similar revelation? It has been said that the most powerful apologetic for the Gospel is a changed life. My own personal experience has proven this statement to be true.
While working with students, one of the first things that we encouraged them to do was to learn how to share their story with their friends. It was encouraging to see how God would use this one simple act to impact a life.
You might think that your story is not “dramatic” or “exciting” enough to hold people’s attention or truly make an impact. Nothing could be further from the truth. God takes each of us on a unique journey in our walk with Him. As you share your story, I believe that you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how certain people that God brings into your path will resonate with where the Father has taken you.
The journey that the Father has taken you on is unique. While others may have similar paths on which their journey has taken, it will not be exactly like yours. That fact in and of itself is a constant reminder of just how deeply He loves each of us. Our God walks with us personally and intimately. It is His desire to transform us into the man or woman of God that He has designed us to become.
So, what about your journey? Where were you when you were finally captivated by the Father’s amazing love? What were the circumstances, insights and relationships that God used to draw you into a saving knowledge of His Son?
Perhaps it was a good friend who took the time to share their story, as well as the life-changing message of the Gospel, with you. Maybe it was a person who took the time to invite you to church, where you had the opportunity to hear the good news of Christ’s love for the very first time. Or, you might be like some of us who were blessed to be raised in a Christian home, where God’s love was constantly proclaimed and modeled before you.
Whatever way God chose to initiate this relationship with you, it is an amazing story of love and commitment. His pursuit of you is a clear demonstration of just how much He loves you, and how significant you are to Him.
As you begin to think about the twists and turns that have taken place in your life, it should not take you long to see His hand upon your life.
Whether you came to know Christ at a crusade, a revival service, in a Sunday School class, or in your home, God has shown considerable persistence in bringing you into His family. Of course, our story does not end at the moment of salvation.
The journey continues as we seek to become the man or woman of God that He wants us to be. Our lives are intersected with people who can offer us encouragement and admonition so that we can remain focused upon the life that God has for us.
We are privileged to experience opportunities for expressing our gifts in the service of others. God is able to use our lives to further His Kingdom. This is still a difficult truth for me to fathom.
In light of all this, I would like to take a moment to recommend a book to you that I have found encouraging, entitled, The Unexpected Journey by Thom Rainer. It is a collection of 12 distinct journeys of faith that I hope you will find as uplifting as I have.
While our journey is not as great as our destination, it is still something to be savored. Enjoy your journey with the Savior. (Mike Cooper is Missouri Baptist Convention’s director of Sunday School Discipleship.)