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Several weeks back, I spent a weekend with a group of men. All of us seeking deeper insight about ourselves, better understanding of God’s plan for our lives. During a break in the action, a few of us were walking the trails of the retreat center and stumbled upon a labyrinth. As we walked single file through the pattern, to the center and back out to the perimeter, we made small talk but mostly relaxed and decompressed from previous high-intensity conversations and group work. It was my first time in a labyrinth. To be honest, outside of Greek mythology, I had never really been exposed to the concept of a labyrinth. All I could remember is that I thought a labyrinth was where they kept the Minotaur. Didn’t sound like a great place to be.
In reality, a labyrinth can be a very peaceful place, full of meditation, focus and relaxation. A place of clarity. And within the pathway of the labyrinth that day, I realized something revolutionary.
I’ve always experienced my life as a very complicated maze. It was overwhelming, all the choices to be made, all the paths I could take. I felt confused and astray most of the time, reaching ahead clumsily with my limited sight, fearing what the next turn would present to me, fearful of a wrong turn or a dead end. I was lost. I thought I needed to solve the maze. I thought there must be a way out.
It turns out that life is less of a maze and more of a labyrinth. At least for those who believe in God as their higher power.
A maze is a complex puzzle that includes choices. It can have multiple entrances and exits and most importantly, dead ends. A labyrinth, by comparison, offers a single, non-branching path, which leads to the center and back out the same way. One entrance. One exit. One pathway.
In Psalm 16:11 it says, “You will show me the path of life.”
Notice that says, “THE” path. The world would tell you that every choice you make sets the path for your future. It’s a choose your adventure kind of life. But God says there is a plan for you. A highly specific plan that has been laid out before you. Sometimes we might be standing still, or walking backwards or feel lost or stuck, but if we step forward in faith, God will deliver us to the center and back again.
The entire book of Jeremiah is about surrendering to God’s will as the only way to escape calamity. There’s only one path. It twists, and it turns and sometimes it seems like you aren’t going anywhere. Sometimes you can almost see your destination, and then it feels like you are headed in the wrong direction, going farther away from where you thought you were being called. But if you persevere in the path God has provided, eventually you will enter into the promises He has made to all who call Him their Lord and Savior. He has ordered our steps. He has carefully crafted the journey He is asking us each to take. It’s not a maze. There aren’t dead ends. There might be pain, suffering, trials, tribulations. Bad decisions. Slow to no progress. But it will all be used to advance you to the ultimate end.
In Proverbs 3:5-7 it says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”
Conversely, if we don’t place one foot in front of the other, believing we are walking within a labyrinth and not a maze, we will feel much differently about the situation.
In John 12:35 it says, “He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.” Hosea 9:17 reaffirms this, suggesting that those who don’t trust in Lord’s plan for them will be “wanderers among the nations.”
When you trust that God is in control, the maze of life becomes manageable. You quickly begin to see that while the pattern is complicated, curvy and complex, it is indeed a path. If you are diligent and obedient, this path can lead only to one place. And you’ll be so glad you followed it. When we take things into our own hands, we can paralyze ourselves and convince ourselves that we are trapped in a maze and there’s no hope for escape. I spent way too much of my life convinced of that. I no longer waste energy or time worried about the next turn, because I know that the path I’m on leads me to God and His completely perfect will for my life.
I look back, and I can see how He used all the “wrong turns” and “dead ends” and “slow going” in incredibly powerful ways. Every time I returned my focus on Him, I moved closer to the center, no matter how far I had strayed or how long I had tarried. Life is not a maze. It is a labyrinth. The path you are on is ordained by God. Train your eyes on Him, take the next step forward and soon enough you will see what I have seen. I promise you’ll never be the same.
What a week!
Less than 7 days ago, I was told my job might not be my job for long. I won’t bore you with the corporate blah blah. Let’s just say that it’s like one of those medical diagnoses where the docs can’t tell you exactly how long you have, but they can tell you the end is near. And there is no cure.
This is funny in a way. Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I had a talk at the kitchen table where I posed the question: “If this job starts to overtake my work/life balance, what should we do?” Looks like that’s a question God doesn’t need me to answer on my own.
I took this job, as you might recall, less than a year ago. It was a step of faith. I was leaving a job where I’d been gainfully employed for 8 years. And while nothing is guaranteed in corporate America, this was a safe job for the most part. It was not where I needed to be, but it was safe. So, I stepped out. And at the time, I understood that the job I was taking wasn’t necessarily what God had for me. It could very well be a stepping stone. The thing that uprooted me from my comfort and forced me to trust Him.
And here I am.
In the meantime, I’ve wrestled with a lot of things, questioned whether my heart was in the right place. As I’ve talked about before, I was placing so much emphasis on things that expire instead of things that are eternal. It was all about the kids having their swing set in the backyard, the house, the car note, the “success” in my career, the security, safety and “peace” of a stable income. Never mind what I was feeling on the inside, how I was being convicted.
On Sunday, I stumbled upon a 365 devotion book that one of my kids had received as a present. It had never been opened. It just went straight to the bookshelf. I turned to the first page, and read, “Are you ready for the adventure? Are you ready to do things ‘my’ way this year?” It went on to say that there was so much waiting for me, that I had no idea. Was I ready for the call?
An hour later, I was in a church service where the pastor absolutely destroyed me. I’ve never cried in church. Ever. EVER. But there I was, weeping, as every word was a cut that sliced me to the core. The main passage of scripture was from Luke 9:24 where it says, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what advantage is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?”
Just a verse earlier, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
My career is built around my desire to “save my life” to create safety and security for my family. To be all snuggled in and feel like we’re provided for and that all is well. I still believe I have a God-ordained responsibility to care for my family. And I’m torn as I write this because I want to follow God, and I want to answer His call. At the same time, I don’t want my kids to ever “want” for anything. And that type of mentality is exactly what will pigeonhole me right back into the life I was leading, where everything was fine as long as we had enough money in the bank and the ability to do what we wanted when we wanted to do it.
Following that church service, I told my wife over lunch that I felt like God was calling me to ministry. And in a full time capacity. What ministry means exactly is sort of a mystery right now. Church leadership? Non-profit? Cause based organization? But I’m trying to be faithful and follow through. Meanwhile, my job hangs in the balance and our “financial security” is tenuously dangling in the breeze. At the very least, a shift in my career to be service oriented would mean a dramatic decrease in pay. What else it would require is still to be understood.
So, I’m talking to people I trust and respect. Seeking counsel. Praying. And praying some more. What a week…
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