EXPLORE - Growing with God (Part 3)

What if the next step isn't forward, but deeper?

There’s a moment when the fog begins to lift.

You’ve slowed down. You’ve made space. The noise has quietened – just a little. The room around you feels less cluttered. Your heart beats a little slower. And somewhere beneath the surface… something stirs.

But it’s not momentum. It’s not progress. Not in the way we usually measure it. You’re not rushing forward, not ticking boxes, not producing.

It’s something gentler. And yet somehow – more alive.

Curiosity.

That quiet nudge that asks the question we often silence too soon: What if?

I’ve had a song on repeat recently – What If by Cody Fry. It’s simple, and brutally honest. He sings about driving across bridges, so afraid of falling that he misses the view. About the texts we never send, the dreams we don’t pursue, the stories we never even begin – because we’re already convinced we know how they’ll end.

And then he asks the question that flips it all upside down and lingers: “Maybe I’ll fall... but what if I fly?”

That’s the heart of EXPLORE.

The risk. The ache. The unknown.

Because yes, we might fall. We might fail. We might be misunderstood. But what if…we don’t? What if we open our hands and find that what we feared wasn’t the end after all – but the beginning? What if the fear is actually proof we’re still alive – and the Spirit is still moving?

This part of Growing with God isn’t about blind optimism or reckless leaps. It’s not a sales pitch for positivity. It definitely isn’t the prosperity gospel.

It’s about faithful courage. It’s about holy risk. It’s about letting God re-awaken the part of us that still believes there’s more to this life than surviving the day. It’s about letting the God who kept lions mouths shut, split the Red Sea, came to this earth - to do something new in us.

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Holy Imagination

Somewhere along the line, most of us were told to grow out of it.

To tidy our dreams into something sensible. To colour inside the lines. To be practical. Reasonable. Realistic.

We were told that faith is about facts – not feelings. About knowing the answers – and sticking to them. That mystery was for children. That questions meant weakness. That imagination belonged in the past.

But what if faith isn’t about growing out of imagination…but growing into it?

Holy imagination isn’t escapism. It’s not about drifting off or ignoring the mess. It’s not building castles in the sky just to avoid the dust on the ground.

It’s about seeing as God sees. Holding the world with open hands.

If we believe God is still at work – still creating, still redeeming, still writing stories that don’t yet have endings – then holy imagination is how we live in the gap.

The Bible isn’t a closed book of museum pieces – it’s a living invitation.

To reimagine what’s possible. To believe again. To carry wonder with us into everyday places.

The people of God were never meant to be curators of the past – we were meant to be poets and pilgrims and prophets. People who notice when the wind shifts. People who are willing to sit in silence and ask, “God, what are You doing here – and how can I join in?”

Holy imagination breathes life into dry bones. It invites us to pay attention to the flickers of something new. Not a blueprint. Not a checklist. Just the sacred whisper: What if?

What if the Kingdom is closer than we thought? What if God is speaking in places we’ve ignored? What if following Jesus means stepping into rhythms we’ve never known before?

EXPLORE isn’t about fantasy. It’s about faithful listening.

It’s the space where we stop demanding a five-year plan and instead follow a single thread of light. The kind that doesn’t show us the whole path – but gives just enough to take the next step.

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The Middle of the Journey

This is the point where things start to shift.

Not into action, not yet, but into something deeper. A kind of restlessness.

You’ve made space. You’ve slowed down. You’ve let curiosity bubble to the surface. You’ve held imagination in your hands.

And now you’re standing at the threshold.

Not rushing ahead. Not solving. Not building. Just standing.

Paying attention to what’s rising within you. The ache. The longing. The pull towards something you can’t yet name.

This is the middle. The in-between.

The part of the journey that doesn’t get the spotlight – but where most of the transformation actually happens. It’s the place where roots begin to grow even though nothing is visible above the surface.

It’s quiet. Subtle. Often unseen.

But it matters.

We live in a world that glorifies movement. We want outcomes. Proof. Evidence that we’re making progress. But in the kingdom of God, fruit often grows in the dark.

Transformation takes shape in the stretch. In the waiting. In the wondering.

If SPACE is the stillness that makes room, and PRACTICE is the faithfulness that grounds us – then EXPLORE is the spark in between.

The flicker of wonder that reminds us we were made for more than answers. The stirring that opens our hands and our hearts.

To live open. To live wide. To live curious.

Even when we don’t have the full picture. Even when we’re still asking the questions. Even when we’re not sure what comes next.

This isn’t about drifting (can’t help but think of a cool car drifting round a corner). It’s about discerning.

Letting God meet us in the wondering – so that when it’s time to act, we don’t just have a plan…we have peace.

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What Comes Next?

So here we are – partway through the journey.

Not rushing to finish it. Not tying it up in a bow. Just recognising where we are.

We’ve explored what it means to Grow with God – not through pressure, but through presence. Not by chasing outcomes, but by noticing quiet shifts.

We’ve looked at SPACE – the stillness that creates room.
We’ve thought about EXPLORE – the place of holy imagination, where wonder and curiosity become worship.

And next week, we’ll move gently into PRACTICE. Into the ordinary rhythms that hold us steady.

We’ll open the doors for the next round of Growing with God Taster Sessions.

But not yet.

For now – just stay here.

Let the questions breathe. Let the Spirit move. Let yourself dwell in the in-between.

God is already here.

Josh | A Curious Follower

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A Curious Follower is a space for anyone who’s learning to slow down, live with intention, and follow the quiet tug of something deeper.

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