JOURNEY

A typical road in Zambia

I love it when God seems to be speaking something specific through not only our morning devotions but in church as well. We have been reading through Exodus as we finished Genesis and it has been so neat to read the miraculous journey of the Israelites so far. We also went to a church here in Zambia and the new series is, you guessed it, on Exodus. Then, we listened to a sermon from our home church back in WI, and it was, yup, on Moses and his walk of faith. His journey. 

As God liberated the Israelites from Egypt and the slavery they experienced there, He did not bring them into paradise. He brought them into the wilderness first. The journey they were on was not for their happiness, but for their growth, for God to show them who He was and to draw them unto Himself. In Exodus 19:4-5, it states, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.” The point of God liberating us from our sin and slavery is not just the liberation or freeing in and of itself, but to draw us to Himself, to bring us into His lap, to adopt us as sons and daughters. That is the true miracle of the Exodus. That He wanted the Hebrew people to come to Him, know Him, experience Him. That God would send His Son to die on a cross to fulfill that covenant brings these verses full circle. 

The journey of the Hebrew people in Exodus clearly defines what our journey of faith also might look like. It is from death to life, but that life is found in the wilderness many times. When it is only our Father God who will uphold us, save us, feed us, rescue us, and love us as His adopted children. So that we can “see” God for who He is. The Hebrew’s were terrified of God’s revelation of Himself on Mt. Sinai. God was descending to speak to them, but they were afraid. How many times does God want to show us more of who He is, but, like the Hebrews, we are afraid. (Unhealthy fear, not the reverence and awe fear that we should have.) We are afraid of where He is asking us to go or what He is asking us to leave. 

The life of the Christian is always one of journey, it is always one of going out. There is no one in the New Testament that was not on a journey. The definition of journey says that it is a progression in going from one place to another. It is not aimless or undirected. In your walk with God, are you moving from immature to mature? Or are you willing to put on the sandals that will never wear out and head into the wilderness like the Hebrew people in Exodus? Would you follow God into the wilderness from slavery in Egypt just so you could experience and see God for who He is and hear from Him clearly and personally? 

We must continue on in the journey. Where are you in your journey with God? I pray if you have taken a detour on the path God has you on, get back on the right one. SO THAT you can receive the “adoption as sons…crying, ‘Abba Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-7) Let the God of the universe draw you unto Himself. May that be the first step of YOUR journey. You never know where it might lead…