A Journey to Zion: The Christian Journey!

And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain! God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God is in full view! Psalm 84:5‭-‬7 MSG What a beautiful passage that describes the Christian journey. This passage clearly depicts that the Christian walk is a journey.What a beautiful passage that describes the Christian journey. This passage clearly depicts that the Christian walk is a journey. And not just a marathon.

The psalmists understand it is a journey and with every journey, there are footpaths, corners, stops, and even different cities that you encounter along the way. The climate and weather are not always the same everywhere, it varies. That is the same with the Christian journey. Because God takes us from glory to glory, we face different situations and go through different seasons.

Each season gives us a fresh revelation of who God is. It is important for us to understand that God has different facets of Himself that He wants to reveal to us, but He can only reveal them in specific seasons. Aspects like Jehovah Jireh meaning Provider will rarely be revealed when you are in abundance. God will reveal this aspect of Himself when you are experiencing some form of lack and limitation. So as we unpack this scripture, let us remember God will reveal different aspects of who He is in different seasons. Let us dive deep into each season given in the verse above. This then should give you hope to not compare yourself with someone else because you are on different journeys.

The first road in the journey is the lonesome valleys aka the wilderness.

When you receive Jesus as your Lord and savior, you first encounter opposition and confusion. Okay, maybe not immediately, because there is also that beautiful period where all you want to talk about is Jesus and everything you want to do is Jesus-centered. This is the honeymoon stage. In this stage, you get to experience the love of Jesus and are so on fire for Him. But after a while, reality sinks in and you encounter hurdles you hadn’t experienced before.

Suddenly, you get attacks that seem to come out of nowhere. Then you realize people don’t understand you anymore and sometimes you feel unloved and alone. Suddenly you notice things about yourself that you did not know before. You realize some sins you are struggling with. Maybe it is bitterness or the aspect of people-pleasing because you want people to love you and accept you. In this season, God starts revealing aspects about you. And even as you go through that, you also start experiencing warfare that you had not experienced before. As you go through that confusion, you get plunged into the stripping season.

In this season, God gets rid of the faulty foundation and the idols in your life. When God strips you of what He wants to, He takes you through a season of isolation. This season is not only painful but frustrating as well. God might tell you to let go of the career, relationship, business, and even hobbies that you so love. One major characteristic of this wilderness season is that whether you consent or not, the stripping will occur. So let’s say you resist letting go of the career despite many warnings, God will cause the environment to become so uncomfortable that you will have no option but to leave. If not, God will allow the situation to lead to you getting fired.

Either way, God will strip you of what He wants to strip you of. Sometimes it could be that what God wants you to let go of is not physical but spiritual. Maybe God is asking you to let go of a mindset that has been holding you back. It could be that you have boxed God, but now God wants you to let Him out of the box. Or it could be that God wants you to stop pleasing others and follow His way. He could want you to walk on a path that others have not walked on before. Regardless, God will strip you one way or another. To learn more about the wilderness season, check out these 2 posts here and here.

The reason God strips you,

The reason you get stripped of some things and not others is because God knows the idols you have in your life and thus knows the places that need stripping. God wants you to rely only on Him and so He will get you to uncomfortable places so that you can put your trust in Him alone.

Stripping also occurs so that your character can be refined. Just like gold has to go through the fire to be refined and grapes have to be crushed so that new wine can come out, so will God strip you so that you can experience character refinement.

As a disciple of Jesus, you represent Him well by modeling his character and behavior. And the only way you can do that is by going through the refining season that strips you of anything that’s not Him. In this season, God shakes everything that can be shaken so that what cannot be shaken can remain. Are you in this season? Or maybe you have gone through it. What was your experience like?

In the wilderness season, it almost appears God is distant. This is a season where the enemy throws everything at you. You go through one thing after another and your ground becomes so unstable that you lose your footing. The things that used to come easily to you don’t and you experience weariness, loneliness, and pain. The pain you experience is because of the refinement, because you realize you cannot act the same way you used to, and because of that, you become frustrated. Some things you used to do to help you deal with your pain and trauma you can’t do.

This forces you to deal with your pain and emotions head-on. Instead of running away from them, you learn how to confront and deal with the pain. You realize that God is the only one you can rely fully upon. This causes you to dive deep in His word to gain comfort and peace because you realize that nothing else can ever satisfy you. You learn what it means to surrender to God.

Come upon brooks,

The brook represent a temporary place that God uses to refresh you. It is not a place where you can stay for long. An example would be after Elijah prophesied about the drought. God told him to go to the wilderness where he would have a brook, quench his thirst, and ravens to satisfy his hunger. Elijah was not meant to stay there forever, it was just a temporary solution. And it is clear because after a while it did dry up and he had to move to another place that God had instructed him. As you can see in this example, a brook can dry up.

A practical example is while in isolation, God gives you a desire to watch sermons throughout the day because you have nothing else to do.

This is a good thing, but the fact remains that you will not always do that forever. You will need to come up with a long-term solution and one that will get you to fend for yourself. You will have to get to the place where you now can take care of yourself. It could be that God had you isolated for a season. You will not be isolated forever because God created us for community and no man is an island. The isolation season was for refinement, but now it is time for you to come out.

God fed the Israelites while they were in the wilderness And again this was not a long-term thing. God sustained them for a while as they had no other way to sustain themselves, but again, it was not a forever thing. One thing to realize is that God will never leave you high and dry. He will always have a way out for you. Sometimes it will be hard for you to see, especially if you were used to being independent and suddenly have to rely on someone else. But there will always be a way of escape for you even in the wilderness.

At some point, the brook will dry up and now it will be time for you to come out. Elijah had to take that step of faith and go to Zarephath. He had to trust that God would take care of him despite him not knowing anyone there. Sometimes it will require you to take that step of faith for God to bless you. What is God asking you to do now? Could He be asking you to get a job, start a business, or relocate? Whatever God is asking of you will require you to take that step of faith and trust that He will provide for you. When God calls you to it, He equips you for it and provides for you. The provision might not be immediate, but you will see God-winks here and there that will cement your yes.

Discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain.

Here, you experience breakthroughs, and suddenly all the limitations that you were experiencing come off and you walk in the promises God gave you. And although you do not experience them in their entirety, you experience ease and abundance in the places that were once dry. Suddenly opportunities come your way from all over. God takes over and starts fighting the battles for you. When you get to this point, it means that the wilderness season is over and the testing period has ended. There will be some form of refreshment on your journey. God will open doors and create opportunities for you that were once only but a dream. The opportunities might not be endless, but you will experience ease in some places that were once dry and impenetrable.

Again, in this season, God reveals your purposes and you gain clarity on how to walk in your purpose. The fog that was on your mind dissipates and everything becomes so clear. Your purpose unfolds in front of you and with every step you take, everything falls into place. You get to the point you understand why your wilderness season was vital. God refines your character and you realize you are no longer the person you used to be. Some of the things you used to struggle with become a thing of the past. You do experience some tests here and there, but they are far- between.

The things that used to bring you joy in the past don’t anymore and God gives you a new identity and you become more in tune with Jesus. You also realize the people around you and become empathetic to their struggles and seek ways to ease their pain. While you are in this season, you become appreciative of the small beginnings and you are not afraid to start over and discover more of who you are in Christ and what He has in store for you.

Abraham after receiving His promise and that was Isaac did experience a test when God asked Him to sacrifice his only son. He had to pass that test. And although he was already in the promised land, he had to deal with some things. The same thing happened for the Israelites. Once they got to Canaan, they had some battles they had to fight before they could fully possess their promise.

These roads curve up the mountain and at last Zion. God is in full view.

Here you start moving from glory to glory. God opens doors of opportunities with accelerated speed and in your obedience, to Him, you follow through because you understand that you have a purpose to fulfill that He ordained. As you navigate different opportunities and every setback that comes your way, you navigate with ease because God already equipped you with the knowledge and skills needed to conquer them. Also, because you have prior experience, you get to use the strategies you learned in the wilderness season to overcome whatever warfare comes your way. Because of your previous battles, you face with courage and head-on to gain victory almost instantly. When the Israelites entered Canaan, they had to fight to possess it. And because of the skills they received while they were in the wilderness, they were not afraid and so they gained victory every time.

As you navigate the mountain, God equips you with new strength and courage, leading you to boldly walk in your purpose. When God told Elijah to face king Ahab the second time, he did not hesitate because God had empowered him to face the same king he had prophesied doom 3 years prior. The demons that stressed you before become a thing of the past because you have outgrown them. And finally, as you go through this process, you get to where God always said you would and you get to experience God’s fullness in your life and purpose, too. Zion is where you experience the fulfillment of the promise.

Final thought

God takes you from glory to glory. And before He can elevate you, He will take you through the wilderness, so that He can refine you. There is a journey to your promise. And that is where refinement comes in. God will develop your character in your journey to prepare you for your promise. There is indeed the fullness of joy in Jesus. But before the joy comes, you will experience some shaking.

Before Jesus’ ministry skyrocketed, the devil tempted him and once He passed the test, then the promotion came. Even once you get that promotion, steward it so that you can get where God wants you to be. It is a journey, not a sprint, and it requires persistence, perseverance, patience, and strength, all of which you can ask the Holy Spirit to give you. He wants to help you on your journey and He is waiting for you to give Him your yes. Remember, you will receive your harvest if you faint not.