4. To Journey Well

The prayer of my heart in recent years has often been, “Father, please help me to journey well.” It sounds simple, doesn’t it? To journey well. But what does that look like?

While writing my first novel, ‘Into the Wilderness’, I came across a verse in the Bible, in 3 John 2 which says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.“

When I looked into the actual meaning of these Greek words, I found out that the word ‘prosper’ used in this verse is the Greek word “euodoo” (pronounced “you-od-o-o”) and one of its meanings is to ‘help on the road, or have a prosperous journey’. The Israelites had to endure a 40-year journey, travelling around an inhospitable wilderness, because of their disobedience and rebellious ways. The majority of them died in that wilderness never having reached their destination, and not having entered the land of Canaan which had been promised to them.

I don’t want that to be my story!

If I’m going to go on this wilderness journey with God, then I want to do it well. I don’t want to just survive or ‘hang in there’ until it’s over, and I don’t want to come out the other side crawling on my hands and knees. I want to come out of this wilderness journey stronger than when I went in, wiser and more joyful.

So how do I do that?

By listening to the Lord and obeying Him.

I know, it sounds ridiculously simple but, according to the narrative about the life of Moses, that seems to be the bottom line. Moses is one of my Bible heroes; he is a fantastic example of how to trust and obey God. There are many, many scriptures that tell us that Moses asked God about something, listened to what He said, and then obeyed. In Exodus 40, it says eight times during just one chapter that Moses “did all as the Lord commanded him”. Wow! What a testimony to have.

How Moses put up with those stubborn, rebellious Israelites, I don’t know. He is truly a hero! Those of us who are parents (or school teachers?!) can probably relate to what Moses went through. How many times do we say to our children, “Will you just be quiet, listen to me and do what I tell you.” We know that, if they do that, things will go well for them but, if they don’t listen, it’s not going to be good. But do they listen? Initially, no, until through bitter experience they learn that life is a whole lot easier when they DO listen to Mum and Dad!

That’s exactly what Father says to us, while we’re on our wilderness journey. He says, “Just stop talking. Quieten down, listen to me and then do what I tell you do.” It’s that simple. That’s how we journey well.

I believe the key to journeying well with God is journeying with Him. Duh! I know, again, it sounds so simple, but it’s true. Don’t just focus on ‘getting there’, wherever ‘there’ is. Journey with Him.

As human beings, we have a tendency to make things too complicated. We want flashing neon signs telling us which decision to make, or an audible voice telling us to stop when we’re going the wrong way. Sometimes all we need to do is listen to that quiet ‘inner voice’ (or your ‘gut’, if the inner voice thing doesn’t make sense to you).

In my last blog, I spoke about how the Holy Spirit is with us every step of the journey and yet, so often, we totally ignore Him. If we will take the time to talk to Him throughout each day, asking Him what to do when we’re unsure, or finding out what He thinks about what’s happening, how different our journeys would be! He is our Guide, our Helper and Counsellor – our gift from Father to help us navigate through the wilderness thereby journeying well.

Listen to Him.

Talk to Him.

Share your heart and thoughts with Him.

Be with Him.

Journey well!

Until next time ….

Ask yourself the question, “Am I journeying well?”

Think and pray about what “journeying well” looks like for you and ask Holy Spirit to show you any areas where you could be doing things differently.

Nicky Heymans is an author of historical fiction who is known for drawing fresh life and inspiration out of familiar Bible stories. She would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions by scrolling down to the bottom of this page and clicking on the 'contact' link, and she will get back to you.