01/02/2025
Today I was contemplating Oswald Chambers' offering for this day, when suddenly I was overcome by the thought that each morning I get up and enter into prayer without really knowing where God will be taking me that day. My life of faith is more than a journey... it's an adventure.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Hebrews 11:8 ESV
Adventures are filled with excitement, challenge, discovery, longsuffering, and even danger, but if, like Abraham, we are brave enough to travel into the unknown; if we "Go Out", there can be great reward awaiting us. The first step in any adventure of faith comes when we stop thinking about it and just go... when we obey God's beckoning call.
In 1803, as a result of the Louisiana Purchase, a journey of discovery was mounted to travel into the northwestern United States to see what had actually been purchased... it was called the Lewis & Clark expedition. This trip was full of hardship, wonderful discoveries, and even death. Of the 38 men who joined with Lewis and Clark, only one of them would lose his life to infection. Yet, despite their suffering great hardships (and perhaps because of them) we still remember this expedition of discovery and teach it in our schools to this very day.
We are explorers too. Each day we leave the comfort of our beds and step into another day of great adventure. We have an idea of what we would like to do that day, but just like Abraham and Lewis & Clark, we really don't know what the day holds for us. So, we pray, and we ask God to walk with us and lead us through the challenges that will confront us, and at the end of the day we thank Him for His provision, protection, and all of the wonders we have encountered.
There is no doubt that Abraham reveled in the days that he walked with God, and saw the wonders of the land he had been given, but how many evenings did Abraham pitch his tents after a grueling day without experiencing something great? I guess that would depend on how we look at it.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.”
Genesis 12:1 ESV
There is a pilgrimage route across Spain known as the Camino de Santiago. One of the most grueling sections of this journey is the walk across the Meseta, the plateau. This is an expansive plain that stretches for over 81,000 square miles and is basically barren except for seemingly endless fields of wheat and sunflowers that extend as far as the eye can see. People who Hike this section complain about the boredom and monotony of it, but this is also a time of great introspection filled with the refinement of one's faith. So, for the sport hiker it is boring, but to the true pilgrim whose quest is for a religious experience it is another lesson in this amazing pilgrim adventure that God has called him to.
Chambers wrote a wonderful thought that we should carry with us as we begin each new day of our own pilgrimage...
"Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you who He is." - Oswald Chambers
An adventure ceases to be exciting and adventurous and is relegated to the mundane repetition of something we already know, when the mystery and discovery is taken from it. This is true when God calls us out as well. He doesn't want to teach us about something we can learn on our own, no, He wants to reveal a marvelous, instantly awesome, sensually overwhelming, truth about Himself to us... a vision into His divinity.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
Do we consider our days of searching and faith to be an adventure? Do we rise from our bed in the morning wondering what exciting encounter with Jesus, and God, awaits us? Will it be a trek through enchanting forests, over magnificent mountains, or will we walk another long day in the wilderness? Wherever we are called to go Jesus will lead us, and God will be with us. We are truly meant to be pilgrims in this world… Are we ready to resume our journey of a lifetime and experience eternity? Maybe we already have, but perhaps it is time to make a fresh new start on what we once considered drudgery, suffering, or a boring hike into the wilderness.
Prayer:
Thank you, Holy Father, for the wonders of each day I spend with you. Lord, today I wish to "go out" to where you are calling me. I desire to experience the magnificent aspects of you even though I don't know where you are taking me... especially since I don't know where you are taking me. Lord, surprise me with yourself and thrill my soul in this adventure I am on with you. From my crawling as a child to my hobbled gait in my final days... excite me with new revelations into who you are. Today I "go out" once again to venture forth with you, and my pulse pounds in anticipation. Abba, show me what was purchased for me with the blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Bless me in knowing you as never before. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who is at the heart of my life, the pinnacle of every magnificent mountain of faith, and in the depths of my chasms of suffering. Holy are you who is with me always and reveals yourself to me in all things. Your grace is sufficient for me, and each new dawn reveals it in ways I have never seen before. You bless me with the fresh morning dew and revive my senses in the midst of every storm. Hear me now as I pray these words and seek your revelations. I pray that they will never cease and will fill the eternity you have promised me with your presence… letting me see you fresh each day through the eyes of Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord. Praised be your name, Father, and may all glory and honor be yours as I journey into discovering you.
Amen
“5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
7 who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.”
Psalm 65:5-8 ESV
Rich Forbes