Where Will We Go?

3 days ago

2 min read

Many of the people who had been following Jesus were leaving.

His teaching had become difficult. The crowd that had eagerly followed Him and witnessed His miracles began to turn away. Then Jesus looked at the Twelve and asked, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67 NIV)

Peter responded to Jesus’ question with a question of his own: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68 NIV)

I love his response. I hear a kind of bewilderment in it, almost as if Peter were saying, “What on earth would we do if we didn't follow You? There is nowhere else to go.”

Maybe Peter’s answer is for us too. Maybe we sometimes need to link arms with him in that same space.

There are times when trusting God means staying close to Him even when His ways are difficult to understand. Maybe our prayers seem to go unanswered. Maybe our circumstances remain painful. Maybe following Him has become costly.

There are mountaintop seasons when our faith feels strong and certain. But there are also valleys marked by pain, loss, disappointment, or fear that can leave us wondering where God is or what He is doing. Sometimes faith is simply turning toward Jesus and saying, “Lord, I don't understand, but I know who You are.”

Faith doesn't require us to deny what we truly feel or pretend that everything is fine. Trusting God can mean admitting that we are struggling or that we are tired of waiting. It can mean facing wounds we would rather look away from, whether they are wounds we have caused others or wounds others have caused us. It can mean getting honest with God about our mess and asking Him to show us where we need to grow and change.

Growth often begins when we are willing to name what is true and ask difficult questions. That willingness can make room for new understanding and new ways of living. It is part of bringing our whole selves before God.

Having faith does not give us complete understanding or eliminate our questions and struggles. Sometimes it is simply choosing, as Peter did, to stay close to Jesus, even when we don't understand and even when we are not okay. And I agree with Peter: where else would we go?