Taking Stock in the Journey

Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. 1 Peter 1:18 (MSG)

You prepare to go on vacation or take a trip. You pack your clothes, bring your car to the garage to change the oil, stop by the bank and get some money, at the very least. Likewise, sometimes you must stop, think, and ensure you did everything needed for a successful trip.

There is a similar principle in your spiritual journey with Jesus. Periodically you should stop and take stock of your relationship with God, maybe at the end of each week. Take note of what you learned and what stood out, and then craft a prayer for God to use those things to change you into the image of Christ. Doing a revision prayer doesn’t mean that you did something wrong but that you are growing and aligning your life with Christ.

Like the psalmist in Psalm 139:23-24, we ask God to help us self-examine. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in an everlasting way.”

Attending Southeastern has been a journey that has caused me to stop, pause, and reflect on what I have learned and how I should apply it to my life. Many times over the last few years, I have paused to reflect. I ask myself, “What God has revealed about my character, and how much I have grown spiritually.” I have come a long way, which makes me realize how much more work I need to do.

Self-examination and being self-aware are quintessential to living the Christian life. Jeremiah tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (17:9 NIV). Along with being self-aware and examining our hearts, we must be honest with ourselves because our hearts will deceive us. Sometimes it is easy to make excuses for ourselves and justify our actions. We need to look at our hearts and actions as God does. It isn’t easy to forgo our perspective and look at it from another’s viewpoint, but we must do it to become Christlike.

When I started working on my Masters, I had an idea of what I was good at, but God honed and perfected that over the last couple of years. So after graduation, I plan to take the summer to reflect on what God has shown me through this seminary process. One thing I know is that I know how to study the Bible. I am grateful that I have learned to divide the truth rightly. As long as I know how to study the word, there is no end to what God can teach me. Another thing that I have discovered is that I know my gifts and callings.

Over the last months, I have prayed and asked God about next steps. As often as I prayed, I heard Psalm 16:6, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” So I am not sure what my next steps are, but I know that God does and Says it will be perfect for me. It won’t be too much that I will be overwhelmed, and it won’t be too little and not be fulfilling. It will be a place where all my gifts are embraced. So as I seek a ministry position, I pray that God will open the only door He can open and close the other doors that aren’t for me. As I look back over my journey at Southeastern, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed the journey, but I am glad it is coming to an end, and I am moving forward with God.