I’ve been going through Emily P. Freeman’s create + complete course over the last four weeks, and in today’s Quiet Collection thought, she writes “Your anchor is Christ – with you and within you. He has already been before you and he would not have you go where he is not.” That last sentence jumped off the page at me and I had to keep reading it over and over again.

He has already been before you and he would not have you go where he is not.

He has already been before you and he would not have you go where he is not.

He has already been before you and he would not have you go where he is not.

Emily is a beautiful and gifted writer. I had the privilege of hearing her speak recently too and there’s something about her voice that is calming and assuring. One of my favorite parts of this online course has been the daily audio reflections she’s provided. And yesterday’s thought touched me in a place that felt comforting and in some way real.

I struggle with faith. I really do. And it’s easy for me to get ahead of myself and forget that Jesus goes ahead of me and that he wouldn’t have me go where he isn’t. What does that even mean? That tomorrow when I go to church he goes before me? What if I don’t go and stay home and read a book? Is he ahead of me there as well? And the part about he would not have me go where he is not? That’s even harder to ponder. So, no matter where I go and no matter what I do, he’s been there and he wouldn’t have me there unless he’s there too? That makes everything I do seem sacred in some way. If he’s there, and he’s been there before me, and if he wouldn’t have me there unless he was already there, that makes literally everything I do in some way connected to Jesus.

So this week I’ll counsel with Jesus, I’ll cook with Jesus and I’ll travel with Jesus. I’ll commute with him, I’ll do my clinical notes with him, and I’ll go to Colorado for a conference with him. He’s already been before me and he wouldn’t have me go where he not.

Where are you going with him this week?