Have you ever been on a trip without a destination? Have you had to do something you had never tried before? Have you ever gone on vacation without a set itinerary before you left?
When I moved to Cincinnati almost two years ago, I had very little semblance of a plan. My new husband was finishing a degree at the University of Cincinnati and I chose to move down here to support him and for us to start our life together. I didn’t have a job lined up or a community to jump into. All I knew was that I was leaving the places I loved, my friends from all different stages of life, my family, a job I loved, and a church that had become so important to me. What a hard pill to swallow. During this time of immense grief, the Lord spoke to me so clearly through scripture. The same passage kept popping up in my life over and over again from various people and sources: Hebrews 11.
“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.” – Hebrews 11:8
Abraham was called by God, which means he was given an invitation by the Lord to do something spiritually significant.
I knew that God had called me to move to Cincinnati. I didn’t know why or how it would work out, but I knew I had to go. As much as I have loved being here in Cincinnati and at Lord of Life, I know that God is now calling me and my husband to move back to Northwest Ohio, even though we don’t know exactly where that will be or what we will be doing when we get there.
My encouragement for you is to go where God calls you, even when you don’t know the destination. Do what God is nudging you to do, even when you aren’t sure how the situation will turn out.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” By faith and only through faith in God, we are able to do, survive, and endure things that seem impossible.
Maybe you’ve already surrendered your plans to God, but you still don’t know how the situation is going to turn out. A dear friend once told me that God showing us only the next step is one of his greatest mercies. Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Notice how it’s not an overhead light or a bright headlight, but a lamp. A lamp won’t light the entire path, but it will illuminate the next little section for you to walk through. If God showed me the whole big picture, I know I wouldn’t follow through. He is so gracious to show me a little bit at a time and lead me gently into what’s next.
Even though he did not know where he was going, Abraham obeyed and went. Is there somewhere God is calling you to go or something He is calling you to do? Are you excited? Hesitant? How can you use this calling to strengthen your faith?
Going without knowing,
Maddie Pease, Office Manager