Often times, our journey in life is referred to as walking down a road. We pick a lane and begin moving forward.

I can see why this a useful metaphor. Life does seem to be like a road most of the time. We feel like we're taking steps down a path everyday, hoping to reach our destination.

What if the journey God wants us to take is not that of a road, but of a river?

While I've felt like I've walked down roads, when I actually look back on where I've come in the most recent years of my life, it almost feels more like time has carried me more than I've actually walked. Almost as if I've been riding a current and letting the water and waves move me forward.

So I've began thinking that life may be more like riding a river than walking down a road.

Of course, God wanted to make this metaphor much deeper for me. Foo Fighters, one of my favorite bands, just came out with an album recently. The last song on this album is titled, "I Am A River". Before I even heard the song, the title stuck out to me. When I finally listened to the song and heard those words said out loud, they resonated with me in a deep way. I couldn't explain it.

Then God made it clear: I am a river.

The resonance came from a spiritual realization that God made me to be a river, not just a wanderer on the road. Instead of walking down a path that's already been set, Holy Spirit wants us to be the water that flows forth. Like we're like a river underground, fighting against the rock and earth in front of us, clearing a new path that wasn't there before. And when the time is finally right, after we have cleared all we could underground, our river will finally break through the ground above and fill the outside with our mighty current of water.

This was an incredible and beautiful revelation for me. God doesn't just want us to walk paths that have already been set by others. It's good to follow in the example of other great people, but God wants us to follow Him above anyone else. Because of that, I believe He created us to be rivers whose current and strength comes from Him. This enables us to follow Him to the places He calls us where no one else has been before.

Rivers bring life and new paths. They make the way for great things. So let's put down our road maps and become the rivers that we're meant to be.

It may seem scary to be a river because you can't see where you're going underground. It's okay. It may be tough because you feel like all you're doing is constantly fighting against the earth and rock in front of you. It's okay. Holy Spirit is your current. The lostness and struggle are apart of the journey. They lead you to break through the ground above.

Roads can only take us to where they're been built to go. Rivers create a path and destination that didn't exist before. Be God's river and spring forth a new path.

I am a river. So are you.