Focus on Your Journey

When Jesus was preparing to go back to the Father, He spent precious moments connecting with His disciples. In the conversation with Peter, He gave insight into what Peter was to do (draw men to Him) and how Peter would die (on a cross). Peter was then curious to know what would happen to John, but Jesus corrected him to focus on his journey and not John’s.

Many times, especially when we are going through difficult days, there is the temptation to focus on the journey of others. This can be a difficult hindrance to overcome when we see others being blessed while we are suffering. We begin to compare ourselves to them and wonder why we aren’t doing as well.

It’s a trick of our enemy to cause us to lose focus. If we stay in this mindset, we will find our hearts getting bitter and frustrated with God. We start to believe that God has forgotten us or that He is punishing us for our past sins. Staying in this type of thinking can lead us down the road of jealousy and envy of others.

We can find peace if we remember this: We don’t get to choose our journey, but we get to choose what we do on our journey. Our joy can be renewed when we recognize that God has never left us, even in the dark days. We can stop looking at others and instead intently look to Jesus for the strength and desire to move forward in faith.

Anyone can rejoice on the mountaintop when everything is going the way we planned. Yet it’s a seasoned Christian who can rejoice even in the valleys of despair because we know that God is with us and He will pull us through.