I’ve been thinking a lot lately about traveling and journeys. Our trip to Dublin a few weeks ago began this line of thinking, I suppose. That trip was short, just nine days, and filled with family, and bangers and mash, and tours of the Guinness Storehouse, staring at bog bodies in the museum, and reveling in the truly emerald green countryside. For that trip, plans were complete ahead of time, we knew our destination, where we were staying, and when we were coming home. It was happily planned, predictable, and terrific.
Not every journey is as fun or easily dictated. Our pastor, John, (here on our island) preached about journeys yesterday using Joseph and his life as an example. John’s been on quite a trek himself – this Sunday was his first time in the pulpit for a while as he had hip replacement surgery and has been on a voyage of recovery. He had to go to Miami for several weeks, and while he had a hope and an idea of how his trip would unfold, there were no guarantees. His journey started out with a plan, hope and prayer, and has led him safely back to his congregation. My nephew this week became ill and is in the hospital. It’s taken doctors a while to even diagnose the journey his body is taking him on, and even now that they’ve named it, it looks as if the trip may be rocky and unpredictable. Some journeys seem unfair and frightening with no plan or clear destination.
John’s sermon point yesterday was that during times when
*we have no idea about where we are going on our life’s expeditions,
*when we don’t even understand the need for a trip in the first place ,
*when we feel and are unable to control our paths or anticipate the outcome,
*when tomorrow’s hours are hazy and unbiddable,
even then, we can be assured that God knows the plan and that He sees the destination. Further, we can relax knowing that He has this trip carefully and intentionally laid out to grow us and shape us into the persons He wants us to be. I honestly don’t like this. Oh, I love the fact that God is trying to grow me and that He knows the ending of the trek I’m on, I just wish I had a little more information before I begin because the ambiguity and the unknown scare me. Joseph, in answering the Pharaoh in Genesis 41:14 made this bold statement of faith: “I cannot do it. But God…” So. There’s my comfort and my joy for the week.
