Faith is not an Experience. It’s a Journey.

“Faith is not an experience. It’s a journey” are the words my friend Cinque Cullar shared with me that I will never forget. Those words carried significant meaning because they perfectly capture what God has revealed to me over the last year.

I, like many of you, have encountered obstacles in life that tested my faith. In those moments, I questioned if I really had faith at all. I now realize that God was using those experiences to prune me, to strengthen me, and ultimately grow my faith for my journey. In the past, when I encountered people who seem to have this bold, audacious faith, I found myself looking at them saying, “Wow, I wish I had faith like that.” But the truth of the matter is, if given the option, I probably wouldn’t want to go through the struggles that they went through to develop the type of faith they have. When it comes to our faith, it doesn’t just grow to the point where you can move mountains in your life based on one experience alone. Your faith grows along your journey because of the various test, breakthroughs, and testimonies you witness or personally experience along the way.

Think about Jesus’ disciples, who had witnessed him first hand do several miracles. Yet, in Matthew 8 when they were sailing in a boat in the middle of the storm and Jesus was asleep, they freaked out and ran to Jesus screaming that they were about to drown. Jesus responded by saying “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” When I read that, I said to myself “Well shoot, I would have been right there with the disciples screaming for my momma too.” Yet, I realize from reading this that although the disciples had witnessed several miracles, their faith was still “in process” so to speak. In other words, you experiencing one miracle or breakthrough by itself might cause you to believe in God or increase your faith, but when it comes to faith that is unshakable, that faith develops through more than just an experience. That faith develops from you seeing God’s continuous faithfulness over a duration of time, and then further cultivating that faith through prayer, studying the word of God, and fellowship with other believers.

The revelation God gave me concerning the significance of embracing the various parts of my journey was life changing. The mental shift of no longer looking at my mistakes or failures as a negative part of my life that I must erase from my memory, but perceiving it as an essential part of my process that helped to develop my character, grow my faith, and position me to become the woman of God that I am today.

Standing in this truth served as my catalyst for launching Faith on the Journey. Faith on the Journey is a company committed to helping people along their journey in life by sharing messages of strength, courage, and faith. Through various forms of media, Faith on the Journey will capture stories of ordinary people who overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges that ultimately grew their faith and gave God glory. This platform will also support people by connecting them to services and tools that will help to grow their faith on the journey.

No one ever told us that life would be easy, but how we look at life’s challenges and who we have with us on our journey, can make all of the difference. If you are reading this today, I encourage you to continue to walk with me as I share some of the revelations God has given me over the years, and I tell different testimonies of faith that ordinary people just like you and me experienced.

At the end of my life, I want to leave this earth being able to say “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7), and I want that for you too. In order for us to be able to reach this goal, we have to prepare our hearts and minds for the race. We have to build our faith to be ready to step into our calling and purpose in life. It won’t be an easy path, but believe me, it is worth it. So get ready, because you are in for one heck of a journey.