Daring to journey

Passage for reflection: Hebrews 11: 8 

Of all the characters of the Old Testament, I think my favourite is Abraham. Here is an elderly man who took risks because he had a strong faith in his God. In Genesis chapter 12 he’s told by his God to leave his home and country and kindred and a rather comfortable life, and go to a land that his God would show him.

Here’s the story. His God said “Go!”

And Abram (as he was called still then) went. No ifs, no buts, no details of the destination except a promise his God would show him it one day and he would be with him.

 Imagine Abram telling his wife!

“We are moving, dear!”

“What made you decide that, we are happy here and we are not as young as we were, moving is stressful.”

“Oh my God told me we must go.”

“Where are we moving to? Has your God bought us a new home to live in?”

“He just said we should go and he would show us the way. But I’ve no idea where we’re going but I know we just have to go.”

“You’re mad, do you know that? I don’t want to move. I’ll miss my friends and my family.”

“I know, but there’s no choice. I just know we need to go. I trust my God.”

“I still think you are mad!”

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” That’s how the writer of the letter to the Hebrews describes Abraham, pointing to him as the supreme example of putting faith into practice, without having all the details of the journey. 

Imagine we have a call to journey. Imagine an open road ahead of us. I guess there are two responses we can make to that road. 

Maybe the road feels scary. We can’t see the end of it. Where’s it going? We want to know what’s beyond our sight. So what do we do? We decide we can’t go. Staying at home is safer, sticking to what we know is comfortable, staying just where we are feels a better option than going out on a road that might have dangers on it which could hurt us or even worse threaten our life. We want all the details of the journey and they aren’t given us so its reckless to even think about going. So we choose not to go. 

But maybe the road feels exciting and inviting. Yes, we can’t see the end of it, but that’s okay because we are stuck where we are today. Maybe if we just set out on this road, we will be shown things we’ve never seen before. Maybe there are amazing things to see round the corner if we are brave enough to just go. 

What was Abram thinking as he made the decision to go? Will it be okay? Is this really foolish? What if my God lets me down? What if he doesn’t show me what he’s promised and I’m left in the middle of nowhere… or did he just trust his God so much he just felt held in the uncertainty by the certainty of the one who held him and would hold him. 

I love how the authorised version of the Bible translates Hebrews 11 verse 8:

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went.”

How often do we have to go out not knowing whither we went? It isn’t easy. We all want to know where we are going but sometimes we just need to trust a bit more and be a bit more adventurous. 

I guess I’ve had the challenge of the journey at points in my life  maybe not as drastically as Abraham, but the choice I made was really important. To stay in bed would have been easier! There are times we are given an exciting opportunity ahead and it needs us to step out to see it. There are times where we are just isn’t working and we’re just not functioning so we need to walk away. So often that leads to surprises and new life because we’ve made that choice. Our God is with us, and is ahead of us, and the call on us is to sometimes catch up with where he is, further down the road he is asking us to journey on. Read the whole of Hebrews chapter 11 and the first two verses of chapter 12. God blesses those who obey him. Abraham and others hold fast to faith, despite really challenging circumstances. The journey would not be easy. But the road was just too inviting not to travel on… later Hebrews says Abraham was “looking forward to the city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God.” He didn’t know the route or the earthly destination, but he believed in the eternal. No wonder Abraham is the father of three great religions. What an amazing thing his response to journey turned out to be.

This week, I encourage you to remember Abraham. God said go and he went. Dare we do the same? Maybe it’s about letting go of our baggage and following. 

God who sets us on a journey
to discover, dream and grow,
lead us as you led your people
in the desert long ago;
journey inward, journey outward,
stir the spirit, stretch the mind,
love for God and self and neighbour
marks the way that Christ defined.

Exploration brings new insights,
changes, choices we must face;
give us wisdom in deciding,
mindful always of your grace;
should we stumble, lose our bearings,
find it hard to know what’s right,
we regain our true direction
focused on the Jesus light.

End our longing for the old days,
grant the vision that we lack –
once we’ve started on this journey
there can be no turning back;
let us travel light, discarding
excess baggage from our past,
cherish only what’s essential,
choosing treasure that will last.

When we set up camp and settle
to avoid love’s risk and pain,
you disturb complacent comfort,
pull the tent pegs up again;
keep us travelling in the knowledge
you are always at our side;
give us courage for the journey,
Christ our goal and Christ our guide.