For the longest time I have been seeking clarity from the Lord about my future. It has been something that has always bothered me and created lots of anxiety, and for the life of me I just cannot figure it out. I have had many questions, and even frustrations that God has just seemed silent about for a long time. Over the last couple of days, I have thought about what my values, beliefs, and dreams are all centered around and how they affect who I am. Through some activities and classwork I was able to discover what I truly hold to be important in this life and work on some vision casting.
I wish that I could say that this led to some amazing revelation about a very specific “calling” that God has for me, but it didn’t. In fact, I’m still as in the dark about my future as I was when I was in high school. There is a part of me that wants to rant on and complain about the unknown, but that’s not what Christ teaches. On the contrary, I choose to see this as a test of patience and faith. Do I really trust that God will direct my steps, or am I doubting my sovereign Creator?
I believe that God wants us to be active in our faith by making plans. This is where vision casting has helped me to find some peace. I have been able to sit down, write out a general goal, and then evaluate the steps that I need to take in order to get there. In World Race terms we call this Here There Path. It has actually helped me to organize my values and beliefs into a possible destination where I can act on them. The first step has been to assess myself and see where I am currently at. This process is essentially digging deep internally to see what I need to give over to the Lord. It is never a fun thing to do as many convictions and struggles are brought to light. I’ve found that pride can be a huge roadblock in this matter as well. I don’t want to see the flaws in myself and then when I do, apathy tells me it’s not a big deal. It has been important to spend time with God everyday so that he could work that out of me. So, I have done this step (Here) many times in my life and instead of finding growth, I have fallen into shame. However, this was because I never took the time to figure out where I was trying to go. Once I sat down and thought about the destination I was trying to reach, I was able plan out how to get there.
The Here There Path exercise has helped me to accomplish small goals which have then pushed me closer to my bigger and more broad desires. It also works in a community setting. My team and I sat down this week and were able to talk about some things that we needed to work on, and then plan out some steps to grow. I believe that God is using this in my life right now. He has given me passions and dreams to work towards as he directs my steps in the way that he wants. It is reassuring to know that God takes me on his Path to get me to his There.
