It’s been almost a year into My Faith Journey to Toronto and it’s amazing to look back at the year and see how God has moved in my world.

A Year Ago I Wrote: 
I can’t help but feel like I am on this incredible new journey into the unknown path that God has for me. I have prayed and reached out for clarity, for deliverance and that he will always lead’s me down his path, instead of my own.

   People ask me if I am nervous and I can honestly say that I am not. I am not nervous because I feel so at peace that this is the right path I need to take. Everything has aligned thus far in God’s perfect timing instead of my own.

A bit about my journey to Toronto:

     When I first felt God’s call to move to Toronto I wasn’t sure on the date of the move because I had a lot going on over the next few months and work was going into busy season, on top of that I had to sell all my belongings so I wanted to ensure I had time for to do that. I finally decided I would move November 1st and two weeks after I decided the date (and I hadn’t told anyone yet) my landlord told me she was selling the apartment I currently live in and had to be out November 1st. Then a couple from my church asked me about the place, came and viewed it and then bought the apartment two days later. (Talk about God’s timing)

   I had booked a trip to Toronto the first week of September to check out different area’s and hopefully look into apartments (although if I was moving in November then September was a little too far in advance to look for an apartment). I was only going to move into a shared apartment or room as I knew furnishing a new place would be expensive and I wasn’t sure about work, but I saw an apartment listed and instantly had a feeling about it. I emailed about it and viewed it the day before flying back to Vancouver.

      When I was in the apartment I kept hearing God tell me that he isn’t pulling me backwards, he is pushing me forward and I instantly knew I had to set my standards of living to the same living standards I was living in Vancouver. The landlord showed it to me and didn’t even respond to any other email inquiries because he liked my email and how I had presented myself (which if you know the rental market in Toronto, this is crazy in itself) and I ended up signing the lease and finding a home. (God is so Gracious)

   Before signing the lease and knowing what area I would be living in, I saw a job posting for a job that I knew would fit me so well. I applied for it, and ended up getting an interview with the company (as they are based in Vancouver). 50% of the interview we ended up talking about my faith and God’s plan for me (which I am always a bit hesitant to bring up to people I don’t know, especially in a professional setting). They said I was so refreshing and that I am going to thrive in my life. It was just another confirmation that I am on God’s plan and not my own. Oh, and the job just happens to be basically on the same street as my new apartment. (Talk about GOD’s plan). I didn’t hear back about the job for about a month and I was eager, anxiously awaiting, checking my emails multiple times daily. 

It was a long process of waiting, then I felt God tell me I hadn’t surrendered everything to him yet and  I wouldn’t receive job security until I realized that he was my security and nothing else. I felt him telling me to put half my savings into my investments so I couldn’t touch it when I got to Toronto and so I did. I knew if I was going on this journey God’s way then I needed to rely on him as my security instead of a job or bank account. The day after I invested my money I heard back that I got the job. It would have been too easy to receive the blessing of this job right away, but instead God had to work on my foundation so I would surrender everything to him.

      Of course occasionally I couldn’t help but to worry about things like will I get the job?(before I got the job) or the stress of finding an apartment (before I found one),  or am I making the right choice? Financially is this sustainable (new city, same high prices), and I have to refurnish a new apartment, which if anyone has to start over from scratch financially that takes you back a lot (and if you know me I am always someone who needs to be going forward in life instead of backwards), so starting from scratch, am I in the right financial stability to do this? <- All these things are not God’s path but the enemy trying to tell me I am not worthy, that I need to have fear and anxiety through this journey, but then I pray about all these things and the first verse that pops up is “Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6.

and I go right back into TRUST!

Tune In To Tomorrow (11 AM EST) to see my Toronto Journey one year later.

Damien Gillis

About Damien Gillis


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