Last night, Heather and I were listening to a podcast where Jamie Winship was walking us through what he’d learned about noticing our feelings, then asking God: (1) what do you want me to know, and (2) what do you want me to do?

This morning I was praying about discipleship pathways for an app I’m building. So I told God “I’m feeling pregnant” – that’s the best word I could think of to describe the anticipation….

(1) “What do you want me to know about that?”

“You are”

(2) “What do you want me to do?”

“Write the pathways”

(1) “Now I feel overwhelmed, paralyzed and stuck. What do you want me to know about that?”

“You are”

(2) “What do you want me to do about it?”

“Pray and ask me for wisdom.”

“Father, give me wisdom. You’ve shown me a lot, but there’s something else. A key. The way to think that makes sense of all this. What is that?”

“Not by strength, nor by might, but by my Spirit.”

“Pathways are just different ways to hear from you?”

“Yes, all of them. That’s all they are.”

And then it hit me: “You’re the Guide; the pathways lead to you.” This verse immediately came to mind:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

In the west, our discipleship method often looks like: learn some truth, get a personal revelation, and try to integrate it into our lives. This is what Heather and I were doing last night: listening to someone who had many experiences with God, and now had something to share.

But in the verse, Jesus hints at a different order: first, follow the Way, then know the Truth and have Life. This is what Jamie did. He actually obeyed, repeatedly put himself in very dangerous situations, and he learned something about God that he is completely convinced of.

Experience-based learning is so different from head knowledge. We can’t live off other people’s experiences. God showed me that my discipleship pathways have to be about immersing ourselves in faith-filled, risky obedience. Then we will actually know God, not just know about him.

That is following the Way.