Joy in the Journey
Embracing the journey.
Maybe I’m a bit nostalgic this morning, for several weeks I‘ve had Don’t Stop Believing by Journey as my ring tone and I’ve been singing it a bit more than usual… well that and some farm time with God.
As the sun rises on a new day of farm life it is easier and more apparent to see that things take time.
Plants do not grow in a day. They need good soil, water, tender care, the sun and well… time. Similar to our souls that thrive best with God’s word implanted in our hearts.
Queue Chris Renzema’s new song, Springtime. “Come till the soil of my soul and it will grow.” Tilling the soul is not easy, tilling the soul takes time, tilling the soil requires discipline, patience, and endurance.
All of these things mimic the christian life and it’s exactly the way God intended it. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy not to forget what his mother and grandmother taught him from an early age. He encourages Timothy to continue on when life is hard. Paul uses his own experience of trials and explains how God saved him out of each one. This is no accident. Paul is paying forward encouragement like his friend Barnabas had poured into him. We disciple by being poured into and like the movie War Room, we then pay it forward. There is a time for sowing and reaping and it is a constant circle that does not end until we meet our Maker.
We will sing a new song each morning! Before our feet hit the floor we should be praying for God’s voice to be the loudest in our ears. The bible says the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. It also states that this is a long race (think marathon) and sprinting through life will leave us worn out and void of energy for the long haul.
We MUST renew! This is why John Piper is quoted multiple times saying renewing our minds afresh is absolutely essential to our daily life. As the morning sun rises each day, so our hearts must be renewed to God afresh. Paul mentions this in Romans, so that we do not stop doing good, for in the proper time we will reap what we sow, more than we sow, later than we sow.
Paul Tripp talks about pointing to the Redeemer as the only hope for heart change in this life.
Are you trying to fix your marriage, your kids, work relationships, friends and family in your own strength?
Our biggest defense is Gods word and our biggest offense is Gods word. There is a reason Charles Stanley says our fiercest battle position is on our knees in prayer. When all of heaven and earth is fighting for us, there is no one that can win the war God already declared victory over!
Where do we go when we get weary? God. Where do we go to rejoice? God.
Where to we go to find the true source of life giving joy? God.
May our hearts desire to sing a new song. May we all have an encourager like Barnabas and Paul to spur us on when our flesh is weary from the fight, when our soil is dry. May the mothers, grandmothers and sisters continue to rise up with great knowledge from the morning dew. May the husbands, dads, grandfathers and brothers rally around with wisdom from the Lord—protecting from thorns and thistle. May this partnership between male and female be strong in our culture, like a leaf requires a branch.
There is a time for sowing.
There is a time for tilling.
There is a time for reaping.
Jesus is good. He is enough.
Take time to pray today. Pour out your heart and meditate on His truth you have been fighting against—it will be a balm to your soul.
