The 5 Phases of Our Journeys

Let’s start exploring our spiritual journeys!

One of the most fascinating aspects of the spiritual life is the realization that we begin heading towards a goal long before we realize what the goal actually is or even that the journey has begun. In this phase, we pack for the trip by developing relationships, skills, tools and insights that will become invaluable later on when we discover how God intends to put them to use. This process of packing is usually not the result of a conscious choice on our part, but simply is the work of God within us so that we will be prepared for the demands and challenges of the future.

Since the journey is initiated by God and is not dependent on our conscious assent or cooperation, phase 1 can best be described psychologically as an "unconscious journey". It can only be fully understood in hindsight, and not while it is occurring.

Phase 2 marks the beginning of our conscious participation in the spiritual journey. In this phase, we are confronted with the unveiling of God's plan for a specific part of our lives. Specifically, we discover the goal or purpose for the journey that we are on, and (usually to our surprise) we look back on our past and realize for the first time why certain events took place. Our past takes on new meaning when we see the future more clearly. Seemingly isolated events now share a connectedness that had been hidden from us as we travelled through the unconscious phase of the journey. Thus, this phase produces a sense of excitement for us as we say "Aha!" to ourselves and to God.

Phase 2, the encounter with revelation, provides us with the goal we need to bring order to our spiritual journeys. In phase 3, God enlists our active and intentional participation towards a goal-related end, and He seeks a commitment from us that expresses itself in service and obedience to His will.

The call to complete the conscious journey does not see the specific goal as an end in itself, but rather as a way in which to draw closer to Christ. Everything that is done in life finds its ultimate meaning only in so far as it helps us to redefine and enhance our relationship with God. The gravest temptation open to the Christian is to allow his or her agenda to gain the status of the most important thing in life, with everything and everyone else becoming subordinate to it. We do not grow closer to God to reach our goals, but rather reach our goals to grow closer to God.

Therefore, the most important aspect of this phase is reflection and worship. Through reflection, we review the journeying process in order to discover how God interacted with us during the course of our travels. Arriving at our destination enables us to gain perspective on the trials and triumphs that we experienced. It is not sufficient to simply experience events without reflection; we must also gain insight into its meaning in order to truly complete the spiritual journey.

After we have reached the goals of our short-term, ministry-oriented spiritual journeys (phase 4), we experience a kind of fresh start - spiritual resurrection and new life (phase 5). A sense of loss, despair or depression are often experienced when our goal has been reached. In common parlance, this is referred to as "the letdown" that hits us after a peak experience. Resurrection and new life (phase 5 indicators) are experienced when God begins the call to a different journey. The letdown is replaced by a renewal of vitality and purpose, we feel like new people. Once this has occurred, we are already well into the preparatory phase of a new and challenging goal-oriented spiritual journey (phase 1).

Phase 4 is analogous to what we experience at the conclusion of our lives. Towards the end of his life’s journey, Paul concludes , "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul then looks beyond phase 4 to phase 5 of his lifelong journey: "in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8). Clearly here Paul is anticipating his resurrection and the granting of new life.