Don't Skip the Journey

Last night I dreamed I was standing in the middle of what looked like a military compound with different numbered sections. I saw a lot of people walking around in and out of the numbered sections. I remember asking someone how I could get to the end.

He told me, “There are no shortcuts. You have to walk in order of the numbers.” And while it frustrated me, I knew that the only way to get to the end was to walk through from the beginning.

When I woke up, I felt Holy Spirit reveal to me, "Yes, you are a soldier, and you are in a season of preparation, but there’s no quick fix. There’s no jumping to the end. There are no shortcuts. You have to walk it through." I felt Him say, "You’re not alone on this journey. Not only am I with you, but there are others walking it out as well. Just walk it out. Don’t skip steps. Don’t run to the end."

How many times have we gotten a glimpse of something glorious that the Lord wants to do in and through us and immediately started coming up with ways to make it happen? Without even realizing it, we give it an end date, as though what God showed us is just another goal to check off a New Year’s resolution list.

I’m an impatient person by nature. I hate waiting. I don’t like waiting in lines. I don’t like waiting on others. Listening to someone talk really slow is like nails on a chalkboard to me. So I'll admit, there are times when I don’t have the best attitude while I’m waiting on God.

But the more I walk out my faith, I’m understanding that there is a beauty to be found in the journey—and it shouldn’t be missed.

You can't rush from point A to point Z without one of two things happening: You’re either going to be ill-equipped when you get to Z, or you’re not going to feel fulfilled by arriving prematurely. There’s something that happens along the journey that can only happen while you are walking in obedience at God’s pace.

Deuteronomy 8:2 (NLT) says, "Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands."

There’s a responsibility on our part, too. We have to be willing to walk the path God has set before us. That willingness is an act of obedience. It’s where we become women of honor whom God can trust with His will.

Along that journey, there are going to be hills and valleys, climbs and descents, twists and turns, stony paths and smooth ones. But while you’re going through it, there’s something happening within you that simply wouldn’t happen if you could bypass the entire journey and suddenly appear at the end.

It’s on this journey that God highlights the things in you that can’t be a part of you when you arrive.

It’s on this journey that you meet people who are meant to walk with you for part of the way, because meeting you is part of their assignment.

It’s on this journey that you continue to grow as a daughter of God, resembling Jesus more and more every day.

Trust me, none of it is wasted. God is preparing you for where He is taking you while shaping who you will be when you get there. Because without the character to handle the call, you will fail.

"Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."—James 1:4 (NIV)

Without the fruit of the Spirit developing in your life daily, you won’t be able to handle what God has set you apart for.

So don’t despise the journey. Welcome it.

Welcome it with open arms, an open heart, and a great pair of walking shoes.