Thankful Preview: Adventure

Last month, I released a new devotional, Thankful: Moving from Superficial Gratitude to a Lifestyle of Thanksgiving. Over the next few weeks, I want to share some of my favorite days with you that I am thankful for. If you want to read more, you can order this devotional on Amazon!

Some people are naturally adventurous. These are the ones who are always excited to explore a new city, experience a new thing, or see a new attraction. And while I’m grateful for these people, I’m just not one of them. I would much rather be in a controlled area, safely tucked away, where nothing can harm me or go wrong. I don’t like surprises and I hate being blind-sided. I like having a plan and enjoy following a routine.

Despite my natural aversion to adventure, as I look back on my life, I see many adventures that God has taken me on. Some of these I was excited about, others He practically had to drag me along.

During college, I moved to a different city, where I only knew a handful of people. A few years later, I moved to a different state that I had only visited a few times before. After that, I followed God and left my job without much of a plan of where I’d go. Shortly after, I chose to take a job at a ministry instead of pursuing my own business.

Each of these moves was an invitation to adventure. These experiences and more were opportunities to blow up my box of safety I had cobbled together over the years. Along the way, the Lord has brought people into my life to pull me out of my comfort zone and embrace the adventure He has set before me.

Adventure is baked into a life of faith.

During each of these seasons, my faith in God grew because I was put in a situation where I was forced to grow, whether I liked it or not. In each of these instances, I had to trust God on a deeper level because I couldn’t be in control. I had to believe that He would point me in the right direction, at the right time, to the right community of people. When I was working for myself, I had to have faith that He would bring me clients when I needed them and would guide me in my business when I had no idea what I was doing. I had to lay down my desires to follow His when I went to work for someone else again. Each situation has been an adventure, and each moment a blessing, though it wasn’t always fun.

Think about each of the disciples: they were going about their lives, doing their jobs, and thinking their situations were as good as they were going to get, until Jesus showed up and turned their lives upside down. They were called to lay down their day jobs, drop everything, and follow Him into unknown territory. And once they started following Him, He ushered them into a new adventure of loving, forgiving, and encouraging others—things they had never done before, at least not like this. Each step with Jesus required faith and trust. And He does the same with us in little and big ways.

Every day is an invitation to adventure with Him.

I’m so grateful that God will lovingly call us into new situations or surroundings so that we can draw closer to Him. While it’s uncomfortable to trust in an adventure, I’m learning that it’s worth it. God has come through for me time and time again and is the best adventure buddy I can imagine. I wouldn’t trade the adventures I’ve been on because I’ve learned who God is and who I am. During an adventure, He exposes the things we are unwilling to release to Him. Then, He heals and restores. Though I vastly prefer to be in my “safe” bubble of comfort, I’m learning to embrace the messiness of adventure as I grow closer to Him.

How do you see adventure? Do you embrace it or try to avoid it?

Have you gone on an adventure with God?

To go Deeper: Read What is Walking with God?, You of Little Faith
Check out Thankful, now available on Amazon!

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