Often, I need more answers than I have, and I wait to get those answers before I move. It’s a brilliant strategy that leaves me standing still. I cover it with adult sounding reasoning, and I agonize in my soul while I plead with God to just tell me what to do. Often I hear Him telling me just to follow Him, but I don’t like that answer. I want the answers because I really want certainty instead of requiring faith. Shockingly, those areas I am waiting for certainty, I am still waiting years later. One benefit to chasing dreams is that in the process we see that chasing dreams increases our faith.
Scripture Shows Stories of Faith
As I look through scripture, I see God inviting us on a great adventure. Little shepherd boy David faced mighty gargantuan Goliath and killed him. Noah built an ark for a flood when it had never rained before. Abraham left everything he knew in search of a place God would show him late; he left family and comfort for the unknown. Others like the disciples took up the call of Jesus and died a martyr’s death. We see those stories and we see the beginning to end and skip the messy majority when they did not know and they had no certainty.
Adventure often does not feel like adventure in the nitty gritty of life. It feels to me more like, “What the heck are you doing to me God? Did I do something that you’re not making life easier?” We want to be used by God, however, trusting Him is a little more difficult. That is when our dreams have the potential to increase our faith.
I have found a few things that have helped me to enjoy the journey a little more than I used to and not lose sleep when I do not know what path to take.
Process
The great journey of life is a process and a few years of living have shown me that no matter what things I fixate on, they are a fleeting desire. It seems that there is always a direction that I’m waiting for an answer on of what to do. I’m sure your life is no different. Through the process we are being formed by God. I believe one of the things that He is doing in the in between is shaping us into His image. While we wait for answers we are listening to the Spirit of God and in the process He changes us. Trusting that He is forming something good in you as you walk through the unknown brings joy to the moment. After all it’s the shaping of our lives that God cares about anyway. Valuing the process over the result will help to grow our faith.
Chasing Our Dreams Increases Our Faith and our Relationship With Him
Every step of faith I have taken has required a more intimate relationship with God. If God gave us the answers that we are wanting we would focus on that instead of Him. At least this guy would do that. I can tend to use God as an answer man instead of my Savior and friend. I have a hunch that you may be the same way. If we focus on the journey, we slowly draw closer to God. In those moments fear will subside as we focus on Him instead of the fork in the road.
Nothing Wasted
I have screwed up a lot. I mean A LOT! It’s kind of scary when I think about the amount of times I have sinned, doubted, stubbed my toe, or lost money in some stupid way. One of the things that I have noticed is as I bring those mistakes and losses to God, He has used them for His glory. This is not an excuse to go do something stupid; I know you may be like me and be looking for stupid to happen. It is a thing that should bring peace to your heart. God will use that path you pick even if it’s the “wrong one” when you surrender it to Him.
Certainty never reveals itself until we look back on what has already occurred. Instead of looking for certainty, go with something different, something better, go with Faith. Trust God to know more than you, because He does. Trust His timing and that He won’t waste a thing. He desires relationship and as we seek Him instead of our certainty, a truly great adventure will reveal itself in the rhythm of life. If you would like a sherpa to help you on your journey, I wrote a book to help that you can get here.
What helps you trust God when you don’t know what to do?