If you’ve sought major change in any area of your life, you may have discovered that God’s priorities for bringing about change are often different than our own.
We may come to him seeking freedom from pornography, wanting to be rid of our insecurity, needing physical healing, hoping for an end to our homosexual desires, or desperate to get out of debt.
But like a good triage doctor treating a patient with multiple life-threatening wounds, God will sometimes leave one area for a time because something else needs attention first.
To us, the problem that demands immediate attention is obvious: It’s the one causing us, or someone we love, the most pain. And so we cry out, “What are you doing, God? Can’t you see? Don’t you care about the pain I’m in!?”
Of course he does.
The cross testifies to us in our pain. He understands.
But the cross also testifies to us through our pain. And so, with each change that has not come (even over a long time) we have a choice:
Abandon the journey or consecrate the journey.
To consecrate this journey to him means he becomes our main desire, not the change we’re after or any of its benefits. To consecrate the journey to him, means entrusting it to him, setting it apart to him as an offering. Consecrating this journey means giving up our rights to have the life we want, and instead gratefully receiving the life he grants.
When we consecrate this journey to God, everything takes on new meaning.
Our victories and our failures alike become opportunities to revel in God’s grace; resisting temptation and leaving a desire unmet become acts of worship; the objects of our temptation become those we fight for not against; and the journey itself—however long it takes and no matter how outwardly successful it may or may not seem—becomes an opportunity to grow more intimate with Jesus.
Question: What helps you consecrate (to set apart, to entrust) your journey to God? What are some practical steps toward consecrating our journey to him? Leave a comment below.
In surgery,
Josh
Josh, Thank you for the excellent post, and so timely. What has helped me to consecrate/entrust the journey has been to look at Jesus on the cross. He endured all our rejections, all the humiliation- for love of us. Sometimes just realizing the pain I have caused Him changes my perspective on my problem. Othertimes I picture myself, with the pain, on the cross with Him. He also reminds me to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” That “All things work together for good,” even the difficult things. Focus on Him, not on the difficulty. That enabled Peter to walk on… Read more »
Community, specifically members of the body of Christ who are also on a journey of healing, helps me to set apart my journey to God! Regeneration was one of the first places I experienced as safe and encouraging! Thanks!