JOURNEY OF LIFE
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Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3104 “Preaching” on the Way
St. Francis of Assisi one day said to several of his followers, “Let us go to the village over the way and preach.” As they went, they met a humble pedestrian who was greatly burdened. Francis was in no hurry and listened carefully to his tale of woe.
When the village was reached, Francis talked with the shopkeepers, spent time with the farmers at their fruit and vegetable stalls, and played with the children in the streets. On the way back they met a farmer with a load of hay, and Francis spent time with him. The morning gone, the group reached the monastery from where they had set out in the early morning.
One of the followers, who was greatly disappointed, said to Francis, “Brother Francis, you said you were going to preach. The morning is spent and no sermon has been given.”
And the saintly Francis replied, “But we have been preaching all the way.”
St. Francis of Assisi one day said to several of his followers, “Let us go to the village over the way and preach.” As they went, they met a humble pedestrian who was greatly burdened. Francis was in no hurry and listened carefully to his tale of woe.
To me, this story is a reminder that the journey is in many ways more important than the destination. Most of us have had ideas or goals about where our life is headed, or at least, where we want our life to head. When it doesn’t get there as quickly as we like we get frustrated. When we get frustrated we try to make events happen, or manipulate events to hasten the outcome that we desire.
Fear is natural. Even in ancient times, people had fears and in many ancient books that fear was manifested in the form of a serpent called Leviathan. Leviathan represented chaos and whenever one of their gods would conquer the Leviathan it showed how great and strong that god was.
When the village was reached, Francis talked with the shopkeepers, spent time with the farmers at their fruit and vegetable stalls, and played with the children in the streets. On the way back they met a farmer with a load of hay, and Francis spent time with him. The morning gone, the group reached the monastery from where they had set out in the early morning.
When the village was reached, Francis talked with the shopkeepers, spent time with the farmers at their fruit and vegetable stalls, and played with the children in the streets. On the way back they met a farmer with a load of hay, and Francis spent time with him. The morning gone, the group reached the monastery from where they had set out in the early morning.
One of the followers, who was greatly disappointed, said to Francis, “Brother Francis, you said you were going to preach. The morning is spent and no sermon has been given.”
The Bible isn’t much different. It uses the image of the Leviathan and in the book of Isaiah it says,
It is during these times I am reminded of one of the most well known Psalms in the Bible, . Most people remember this as the one that promises protection when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death but the beginning holds another promise.
One of the followers, who was greatly disappointed, said to Francis, “Brother Francis, you said you were going to preach. The morning is spent and no sermon has been given.”
Psalm 23
And the saintly Francis replied, “But we have been preaching all the way.”
In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
With His fierce and great and mighty sword,
Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;
And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
And the saintly Francis replied, “But we have been preaching all the way.”
To me this story is a reminder that the journey can be more important than the destination. The men in the story had their eyes set firmly on going to a village to preach that they could not see all the blessings they had encountered along the way.
We all have ideas of how we want our life to go or we have goals that we would like to achieve. We strive to reach our goals but at what cost?
To me this story is a reminder that the journey we take is more important than the destination.
When we are going through difficult times it is easy to focus on the Leviathans in our life. It is easy to become overwhelmed with the chaos surrounding us. But God doesn’t want us to live like that. God didn’t make us to have to live like that. He was us instead to focus on Him.
God has set your feet on a path and everything you experience is part of that journey. Some of it is good and some of it may not be as enjoyable but it is all part of the journey. Take some time to enjoy that journey. Take time to get to know the people around you. Take the time to really live.
Life is a journey. Sometimes it doesn’t go as we plan, sometimes we turn right when we should have gone left, sometimes circumstances delay our goals, and sometimes we never reach our goals at all. Regardless of the outcome, we need to recognize the joy in the journey.
The greatest joy in the journey comes when we recognize the path that God would have for us. There is a proverb that states,
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
God’s purpose for your life is that you would know Him. It doesn’t matter if you have never met Him, or you knew Him a long time ago but stopped listening to Him, He is waiting for you to return to His purpose for you. He is waiting to renew your joy in the journey. Most of time when we are struggling with life it is because we are not in line with His will and purpose for us.
I encourage you today to find that joy in life again.