“We often lose hope in the face of worldly troubles. However, it is precisely while on such tough journeys that God calls us to move forward confidently…Faith is a principle of questioning and struggle before it becomes a principle of certitude and peace…our faith journey is a movement from seeing our faith as an “interesting uncertainty” to an “incomprehensible certainty.” (Dynamis 9/7/13, Thomas Merton, Gerald Manly Hopkins)
“To step out brings us nearer God and to true joy, but God goes with us as we journey. He is both in the midst of the struggle and waits on the other side…Growing strong in God’s presence is often preceded by a journey through barren places in our lives. The person who loves to spend time with God will see his or her adversity as an opportunity to experience God’s faithfulness even more deeply.” (Dynamis 12/29/12, Life Application Study Bible, Psalms 84:5-7)
“The life in Christ is a series of choices and actions undertaken after the manner of Abraham. It is a journey that carries us far from the measurable and the familiar, directing us toward a new way of life. We learn to follow this new way by means of sustained obedience over many years…The Christian walk is a journey. As we continue on our path, we come to know a deepening of our faith. We can eventually see God in everything and take great comfort in knowing He is there, even when we don’t understand all that is happening." (Dynamis 3/28/14, Bettie Youngs and Debbie Thurman)
“The hard part of the Christian journey comes after we receive grace that opens our hearts to God and the initial enthusiasm that comes with it. It’s like the passionate part in the beginning of marriage. Once that cools what then? We need the wisdom and discernment to continue to grow in our relationship with God or we become like the seed that received the word with joy but then fell away (Luke 8:13).” (Sacramental Living Blog)
“This is the spiritual journey—to live into the fullness of Christ’s life within us.” (Phileena Heuertz)
“Our world has made it all about ourselves. The journey of the Christian is to make it all about God.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“Deep in our hearts we tend to rebel and protest, but it is necessary to subject our hearts, souls, and actions to the will of God. Although we may rarely discern God’s will among the myriad details of daily life, we still must learn obedience for this life’s journey...We often make life’s journey more difficult than necessary by disobedience.” (OCPM 2/13/2016, Life Application Study Bible, Deuteronomy 2:14-15)
"It’s easy to misunderstand our spiritual journey as a bunch of negatives: Don’t do this, don’t do that. From this point of view, my faith turns into mere “religion” in the pagan sense; that is, a burdensome obligation before a demanding divinity. But faith in the living, Triune God is actually about the big “Do,” of building, step by step, and growing, from day to day, on the foundation of God’s Word, in His grace." (Sr. Dr. Vasssa Larin)
"“It is good for me that I have been afflicted (Septuagint version: that you have humbled me, ὅτιἐταπείνωσάς με); that I might learn your statutes.” (Ps 118/ 119: 71) … How blessed I am to have this verse to pick me up and carry me, whenever I am afflicted and beat down by my own afflictions. Because God carries me forward, “that I might learn.” That’s the great difference faith makes, God makes, in the human journey: He blesses both the ups and the downs with eternal meaning, with the grace of growth in His gifts of humility, wisdom, and compassionate light." (Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin)
“We all possess within us a moral compass which helps us to stay on course in our spiritual journey…Every chapter of our life, whether joyous or difficult, filled with blessings or with sufferings, becomes another passage on the journey to fullness, wholeness, and an eternity spent within the Love of God.” (Fr. Andrew Demotses, Father Stephen De Young)