When several of my friends met together today for breakfast, I was asked to quickly find a devotional to share with the group due to the absence of the one who would have furnished it because of her illness. While the ladies sat around the dining room table, I scanned through the topics in Checklist for Life for Women....Timeless Wisdom & Foolproof Strategies for Making the Most of Life's Challenges & Opportunities guidebook, but nothing seemed appropriate.I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to "wing" it. Then I happened upon the following and without much "thought" I felt this was the one I would read. Not only did it talk about things to do with this Thanksgiving "season," it touched our hearts in such a way that many of us were in tears...AND, if that were not enough....Sherryl...had already planned to share Psalm 37...the Psalm this devotional mentions twice!!! We felt the Lord was in the room with us...and hopefully you'll sense His presence as you read this, as well.
By the way, any men out there...just change the wording around and pretend it says men when it says women... unless, of course its gender specific... It can certainly apply to men also!
The Art of Pilgrimage
Life is a journey. You can choose to make this life a pilgrimage of faith and trust. You can proclaim, "I may not know where I'm going, but I know who's going with me." Like those who have traveled the pilgrim's path, you can walk with God every day.
You can look at life's journey in many ways. Think of the passages of life that all people go through. These personal journeys go not only across time and space, but also through epochs in your life. Think about the great adventure of childhood, when you became aware of yourself and then discovered the world beyond the family home. Remember adolescence, when the first signs of budding womanhood appeared, and you awkwardly began to reach out for adulthood. These are stages in life's journey and are journeys in and of themselves: the first time to live away from home, searching for a place to belong in the working world, finding compatible social circles, the commitment to a marriage, starting a family and watching your own children begin their own life journeys, letting go of aging parents as they move toward the great mystery beyond this life.
What do you need to take with you on a life journey? The Bible is an excellent map, offering eternal perspective on the territory you are passing through. The Spirit speaking to your heat is a compass that always points to the true north of God's love. A staff of faith to lean on and sturdy trust that God will guide you help keep you moving steadily forward. A grateful heart makes a cheery companion along the way, lightening loads and pointing out unexpected delights along the path. Friends and loved ones who share the journey make the road less lonely and light the way with love and encouragement.
God calls you out of the comfortable and familiar into new adventures. Just when you think you're settled in, something sets you off on a new pilgrimage. A crisis may make you reevaluate your life and decide on a new direction. A tragedy or loss can push you to create a life without someone or something you thought would always be there. Situations change, priorities shift, and suddenly you find yourself a wandering pilgrim once again, learning new lessons about trusting God.
You can also voluntarily seek out new adventures and begin journeys of faith. The great adventure of starting your own business can become an absorbing pilgrimage among business plans, suppliers, customers, and all the challenges inherent in being an entrepreneur. The choice to marry one man out of all the men in the world will change your life forever. Bringing a child into the world touches eternity and earth in a way that mere words can never describe. Making a move to another town, deciding to learn a new skill, giving yourself permission to pursue a dream, returning to school, taking a trip to a long dreamed-of-destination--all of these are journeys that can be taken with a pilgrim heart.
As you travel along your pilgrim way, here are a few things to keep in mind:
A true pilgrim heart is a thankful heart. Whether it rains or the sun shines, an attitude of gratitude values the gifts that each day brings.
Plan to be flexible on a pilgrimage. Expect the unexpected. Rigid self protection and unrealistic` expectations make things more difficult. Relax and go with the flow. You may have a good idea of your destination, but God often chooses to lead you by another path.
Instead of getting angry at detours and delays, be determined to learn the lessons that difficult times teach. See them as gifts that prepare you for the next stage of the journey.
Expect to be changed. Know that at the end of the journey you will be a different woman than the one who began the pilgrimage. God loves you as you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay where you are.
Place your trust in God. He will lead you safely through the detours, difficulties, and disasters that trouble you. His way is always safer than a known way. He always leads pilgrims safely to their destination.
Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way.
Psalm 37:23 NRSV
Life is a journey. You can choose to make this life a pilgrimage of faith and trust. You can proclaim, "I may not know where I'm going, but I know who's going with me." Like those who have traveled the pilgrim's path, you can walk with God every day.
You can look at life's journey in many ways. Think of the passages of life that all people go through. These personal journeys go not only across time and space, but also through epochs in your life. Think about the great adventure of childhood, when you became aware of yourself and then discovered the world beyond the family home. Remember adolescence, when the first signs of budding womanhood appeared, and you awkwardly began to reach out for adulthood. These are stages in life's journey and are journeys in and of themselves: the first time to live away from home, searching for a place to belong in the working world, finding compatible social circles, the commitment to a marriage, starting a family and watching your own children begin their own life journeys, letting go of aging parents as they move toward the great mystery beyond this life.
What do you need to take with you on a life journey? The Bible is an excellent map, offering eternal perspective on the territory you are passing through. The Spirit speaking to your heat is a compass that always points to the true north of God's love. A staff of faith to lean on and sturdy trust that God will guide you help keep you moving steadily forward. A grateful heart makes a cheery companion along the way, lightening loads and pointing out unexpected delights along the path. Friends and loved ones who share the journey make the road less lonely and light the way with love and encouragement.
God calls you out of the comfortable and familiar into new adventures. Just when you think you're settled in, something sets you off on a new pilgrimage. A crisis may make you reevaluate your life and decide on a new direction. A tragedy or loss can push you to create a life without someone or something you thought would always be there. Situations change, priorities shift, and suddenly you find yourself a wandering pilgrim once again, learning new lessons about trusting God.
You can also voluntarily seek out new adventures and begin journeys of faith. The great adventure of starting your own business can become an absorbing pilgrimage among business plans, suppliers, customers, and all the challenges inherent in being an entrepreneur. The choice to marry one man out of all the men in the world will change your life forever. Bringing a child into the world touches eternity and earth in a way that mere words can never describe. Making a move to another town, deciding to learn a new skill, giving yourself permission to pursue a dream, returning to school, taking a trip to a long dreamed-of-destination--all of these are journeys that can be taken with a pilgrim heart.
As you travel along your pilgrim way, here are a few things to keep in mind:
A true pilgrim heart is a thankful heart. Whether it rains or the sun shines, an attitude of gratitude values the gifts that each day brings.
Plan to be flexible on a pilgrimage. Expect the unexpected. Rigid self protection and unrealistic` expectations make things more difficult. Relax and go with the flow. You may have a good idea of your destination, but God often chooses to lead you by another path.
Instead of getting angry at detours and delays, be determined to learn the lessons that difficult times teach. See them as gifts that prepare you for the next stage of the journey.
Expect to be changed. Know that at the end of the journey you will be a different woman than the one who began the pilgrimage. God loves you as you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay where you are.
Place your trust in God. He will lead you safely through the detours, difficulties, and disasters that trouble you. His way is always safer than a known way. He always leads pilgrims safely to their destination.
Wait passionately for God, don't leave the path.
When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me, for I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. Ps. 42:4 NKJV
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth. Heb. 11:13 NKJV
Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Ps 119:54 NKJV
Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. 1 Pet. 1-17-18 The Message
We walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corin. 5:7 NKJV
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. Ps. 84:5
NIV
The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me--a prayer to the God of my life. Ps. 42:8 NKJV
The Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. Gen. 12:1 NKJV
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Heb. 11:8 NKJV
They desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Heb 11:16 NKJV
We are the temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people." 2 Corn. 6:16 NLT
"In the spiritual journey we travel through the night toward the day. We walk not in the bright sunshine of total certainty but through the darkness of ignorance, error, muddle, and uncertainty. We make progress in the journey as we grow in faith." (Christopher Bryant)
"Every man has two journeys to make through life. There is the outer journey, with its various incidents and the milestones....There is also an inner journey, a spiritual Odyssey, with a secret history of its own." (William Ralph Inge)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I WILL
Trust that God is with me every step along the way................
Be open to new experiences and new ideas....................
Have a grateful heart.......................
Be flexible..................
Look for rainbows when it rains........................
Learn the lessons difficulties can teach....................
Expect that I will change and grow as a person in my journey through life......................
THINGS TO DO
[] Do a Bible study on someone who went on a journey, such as Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Paul, Ruth and Naomi.
[] Read John Bunyan's spiritual classic, A Pilgrim's Progress.
[] Read a great adventure novel or a travel memoir.
[] Go on a trip to a place you've never been to before.
[] Take a long walk or drive in the country.
[] In your journal, answer this question: If my life is a journey, where am I on that journey?
[] Buy a guidebook and plan an imaginary journey to that destination.
Psalm 37:34 The Message
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Things to Remember
When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me, for I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. Ps. 42:4 NKJV
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth. Heb. 11:13 NKJV
Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. Ps 119:54 NKJV
Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. 1 Pet. 1-17-18 The Message
We walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corin. 5:7 NKJV
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. Ps. 84:5
NIV
The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me--a prayer to the God of my life. Ps. 42:8 NKJV
The Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. Gen. 12:1 NKJV
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Heb. 11:8 NKJV
They desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Heb 11:16 NKJV
We are the temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people." 2 Corn. 6:16 NLT
"In the spiritual journey we travel through the night toward the day. We walk not in the bright sunshine of total certainty but through the darkness of ignorance, error, muddle, and uncertainty. We make progress in the journey as we grow in faith." (Christopher Bryant)
"Every man has two journeys to make through life. There is the outer journey, with its various incidents and the milestones....There is also an inner journey, a spiritual Odyssey, with a secret history of its own." (William Ralph Inge)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I WILL
Trust that God is with me every step along the way................
Be open to new experiences and new ideas....................
Have a grateful heart.......................
Be flexible..................
Look for rainbows when it rains........................
Learn the lessons difficulties can teach....................
Expect that I will change and grow as a person in my journey through life......................
THINGS TO DO
[] Do a Bible study on someone who went on a journey, such as Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Paul, Ruth and Naomi.
[] Read John Bunyan's spiritual classic, A Pilgrim's Progress.
[] Read a great adventure novel or a travel memoir.
[] Go on a trip to a place you've never been to before.
[] Take a long walk or drive in the country.
[] In your journal, answer this question: If my life is a journey, where am I on that journey?
[] Buy a guidebook and plan an imaginary journey to that destination.
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