A Journey to Faraway Places

Genesis 12: 1-2. “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.’”

I miss my kids. Most of you reading this know that Andrew is in South Africa, Chris is in India, and Lindsay is in Japan. While Skype is a great tool, it’s not the same as face-to-face conversation and certainly can’t deliver a big hug.

God’s people are on a spiritual journey and, very often, on a physical journey as well. God told Abram (later renamed Abraham) to leave his country. Joseph wound up in Egypt. Moses led the people out of Egypt and to the promised land. Nehemiah moved from Babylon to Jerusalem. Paul traveled all around the Roman Empire. Hudson Taylor moved to China. Mother Teresa moved to India. Billy Graham traveled all around the world. And so on.

Relocating to a faraway place with a very different culture can be difficult. Abram had to leave his extended family and all that was familiar and comfortable to him. All of us who have traveled to a foreign country understand this to some extent. Once I traveled to China and had with me a “cheat sheet” of several food dishes I could point to so the server knew what I wanted (of course I could not read the menu). After a week of eating the same food I was a bit bored. I decided to take a chance and pointed to a random item on the menu. What came out was a deep fried whole fish complete with head, scales, and innards. I quickly went back to the cheat sheet.

I don’t know why God had so many people journey to faraway places. But I do know that he did, and when he did, pretty amazing things happened in and through Abram, Joseph, Moses, Nehemiah, Paul and others in more recent times. So while I miss my kids, I have a sense that God has them on a remarkable journey, and that he will do some amazing things in and though them while they are on that journey. Is God calling you on a journey?