"Further On"
Why did I choose the name "Further On?"
Humans often find themselves having to wait in some sort of way. Waiting in a food line, waiting at a stop light, waiting to get in the game, and often, waiting on the Lord. It has been proven many times that people on this earth are just not great at the waiting process. More times than not people will describe the feeling of waiting as feeling helpless. It was shown in a study done by Experity that humans would be more satisfied with a clearly explained thirty-minute waiting period rather than an uncertain twenty-minute waiting period. In a time of waiting, there can be certain uncertainty, worry, anxiousness, and even stress. All of this comes from our human nature to not be present and not be able to rest in the scenarios in front of us.
When will I understand all of the parables God has shown me? How do biblical texts apply to modern society? How does free will affect my life? Are we seen as good or evil? Do people immediately go to heaven or is there a holy waiting place once passing here on earth?
These are a few of the numerous questions Christians may ask on their walk with the Lord. Along with all of the questions people have, there is one that often stands out. Why can I not receive the answers I want? Why do I not fully understand what God is telling me? Ironic enough, there is no straightforward answer even to this question. All we can say is that the Lord will answer us in His perfect timing. Some questions we have can be answered while on earth, this can be through wise counsel, biblical readings, time in prayer, and asking the Lord to make the answer known. Truly, this is how God intended for it to be, faith is simply believing without seeing, we cannot see the Lord in human form but we believe in Him and hear from Him. As humans we have a perception that to understand or move forward in something you must know everything, but what if we were okay with not fully seeing the answers just as we do not fully see God? That is how it should be, believing and moving further along constantly.
In my life, I have always struggled with patience. I often have to ask God for help in this area of my walk with Him. I do not so much struggle in patience with other people but I am talking more about patience in the unknown. I tend to struggle when I am unable to see what lies ahead of me, resulting in anxiety, stress, and worry. Many times in my life I have found myself in waiting and I guess maybe this could be that God is giving me chances to practice patience. Waiting on the Lord, waiting on His discernment, waiting on His answer, and waiting on His guidance are all needed in our walks with Him. Through time the Lord has taught me how to rest and how to approach Him in the unknown, becoming certain that He will do good in all things. I can sit and know that when the Lord wants to show or teach me something, He will, not in my timing, but in His.
What does waiting have to do with moving further on? Life is a journey, it is a journey of mountains and valleys. On the mountain top, it may feel like you are in great shape, you just won the championship game, you have the significant other you always loved, and you finally got the job that you worked so hard for, all of these making you believe you are in the best place you could be. On the other hand, maybe you did not get into the college you wanted, you just got fired from your dream job, enough money is not being made to make ends meet, or maybe that person you wanted to be with forever is no longer there. Both sides are allowing for this journey of life to be in full swing. Life is full of ups and downs, and we can approach them with worldly motives, or we can invite God into our journey with us.
Inviting God to walk alongside us in our journey of life is the best decision a person could ever make. We may not have the answers we are always looking for, the money we need, the job we wished for, the grades we expected, or the status that we hoped for. But through it all our eyes are on the Lord and we have a relationship with God, which will bring blessings and love from Him.
Our journey here on earth will come to an end at a certain point. Our bodies will fade away and we will be in the past. Thankfully with God, our journey never ends. In fact, when he is allowed into your heart, your journey with Him is just beginning. After death on earth, you enter eternal life with the Lord, which is the only perfect place ever to be known. God says there will be no hurt, pain, or suffering. We will be walking streets of gold in perfect presence with the Lord. BUT it gets better, our eternal life can start now. Once accepting God into your heart, you are entering a new life here on earth, you are leaving your past behind and entering a journey with the creator of the universe.
God offers eternal salvation to each person on the earth, once accepting this gift you are forever moving further on in your relationship with Him.
This reading may seem a bit more informative or even just an explanation than a typical journal, which is what a post will usually look like. I encourage you to reach out with any questions regarding this, or even regarding the name, “Further on.” Thank you for reading!