My Journey of Faith

When most people, including myself, hear the phrase “journey of faith,” they immediately think of Abraham packing his bag and gathering his family to travel to some unknown destination despite his pagan upbringing to answer the call of God. However, I have realized that my own journey of faith is nothing like that of Abraham—in fact, mine is more like Jonah’s. I’m going to explain what I mean by this, even though it is something that other people in my position may be ashamed to admit. Jonah ran when he received the call of God, but God led him back to the path He had originally planned. Likewise, I ran the moment I realized that God had planned for me to preach because public speaking isn’t “my thing.” As I ran, I discovered that things weren’t working out for me very well and I began to feel God slowly changing me. I then realized that my dream of becoming a doctor was nowhere in sight, and that I was walking the path that God had laid out for me. I finally felt that I was at a point where I should major in Bible/Ministry instead of pre-med. I’m not ashamed of this story as some would be because, unlike what we know of Jonah, I am letting this experience change me. Running from God is in the past and I hope to leave it there. I am now running toward God and embracing this new path I’ve been chosen to walk. In the words of Paul, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). This is an important lesson that we all need to learn; the past does not matter. Leave it behind you and walk with God. God has already mapped out my walk with Him, and today marks the day in which I make the first major turn that I see coming up on the map—today is move-in day at college. I’ve been looking forward to this day for 4 years now and it’s finally here! I’m starting this blog to tell the story of my journey of faith as it continues to unfold and to share some of the lessons I learn while following this path. I hope that each of you can learn with me.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19