The word journey when it rings in our ears, is one of the most exciting experiences in life which everyone desires from the time we learned to crawl and walk until we grow old and finally return to our Maker. No active person keeps himself in one place unless he is shut-in by paralyzing circumstances such as; ailment and other physiological predicament. But even then, the mind of the afflicted person never stops desiring to move from one place to another. Not even financial constraints nor calamities can stop a person from wandering. In fact, the more pressure comes the more a person is itching to move.
So what is it that makes a person anxiously mobile?
Is it money? King Solomon had all the riches. In fact, the Bible says there’s no one before and after him who could surpass his wealth. He had it all. Yet he said that to live for money is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I’ve read a testimony of one of the Rockefellers who said, “I made many millions, but they have brought no happiness.” While Andrew Carnegie once said, “millionaires seldom smile.”
Or, is it power? Certainly not! It only exposes people’s insecurities and weaknesses. Before, he can be alone by himself with much ease and peace but once he is in power he could no longer come and go without a group of armed bodyguards. Uncontrollable power, will only give a person unwanted wrinkles on his face and untimely gray hair.
Is it fame and popularity? No! When a person becomes famous, he may have the applause of men but later he loses his own privacy and finds himself empty and vulnerable to the critic’s eyes.
Is it pleasure? Surely not! It’s fleeting pleasure will only bring to the surface the reality of loneliness and regrets for nothing is permanent in this world. Pleasures have the wings of an eagle. It can bring you to un-imaginable peak of ecstasy but it’s fall is also disastrous beyond description. It can devastate the recesses of your bone.
Is it religion? Absolutely not! Instead of reconciling the people back to God, religion becomes the most effective tool of the Accuser to turn the people away from God through his sugar-coated lies. Man-made religion only makes a person self-reliant, self-centered and self-righteous, thus stopping God to work in his life.
If these things; money, power, fame, pleasure and religion could not pacify a restless person, then what? A live fish on a dried sand never stops wagging until it is back to the water where it belongs. In same manner, a person will never find tranquility until he finds his way back to his Maker, not to his own delusion and selfish ambition.
According to 1Peter 2:11, we are “aliens and strangers” in this world because our home is with God, our Creator. In heavenly parlance, we are on a journey back to our eternal home. This is the lingering cry of our soul. But this has been deliberately and tragically neglected by many people because of the different deafening voices coming from this chaotic world and the overwhelming claim of our flesh that have made the shout of our soul unheard and unattended..
That’s why the Apostle Paul said, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Eph. 5:14-17).
Check your unseen journey. Make sure you are on the right path. Let not be deceived for there’s a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12).
A psalmist said in Ps. 62:5, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.” There is only one place where we can find rest. It's on God’s way not on our own. Therefore, listen to your soul intently and follow the journey God has laid along your way and you will surely find rest day by day.