Through a Glass, Darkly
My pastor has been preaching through Hebrews 11 - a couple weeks ago he spoke about Abraham.
It hit me when I was walking to work - how my story (and the stories of many of my friends) are so similar to his.
You have Abram living in his hometown, married to Sarai. He's fairly young, and he's got a lot of opportunities there.
Then one day, God speaks to Abram, tells him He wants him to move.
Where? He wasn't about to tell him yet.
"Pack your bags and hit the road! Yes, I know you are completely unaware of what direction to head in."
So Abram sets out, trusting that God will show him where to go. This wasn't a "please show me what dreams to pursue over the next month" sort of thing. That is a step of faith for some.
But for Abram? This was a day-by-day thing. Forget about tomorrow.
"God, please show me where you want me to go today. I have no idea what to do about tomorrow."
I'm sure many high-school seniors have prayed something like that.
You wake up eighteen one day, and the world thinks you're an adult. They think you're mature, ready, you've got your life all figured out.
If you haven't been to this point of confusion yet, let me tell you this:
You don't just wake up mature one day. There isn't an "adult button" you can push to activate a long-term life plan.
Everybody wants to know where you're going, what purposes you've found for your life. Possibly two of the worst questions to answer, even if you're not a teenager.
Like Abraham waiting decades for his promised child, you are waiting for the seemingly impossible - the indication of your life's calling, the way you can make your difference in the world. Some days becoming a parent in your nineties can seem more likely than that.
Quite a few of us, I should think, will find a formal outlet and see (at least some) of the fruits of our labors. But some (maybe even myself?) may never really see with their own eyes the results of their work.
"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:13-16)
God's promises and purposes for us will be accomplished - "...He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
C. S. Lewis said it - how he knows: "When I find myself with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
Travel on, one day at a time. Your work is hard and holy and good.
It's a journey, friend.
It hit me when I was walking to work - how my story (and the stories of many of my friends) are so similar to his.
You have Abram living in his hometown, married to Sarai. He's fairly young, and he's got a lot of opportunities there.
Then one day, God speaks to Abram, tells him He wants him to move.
Where? He wasn't about to tell him yet.
"Pack your bags and hit the road! Yes, I know you are completely unaware of what direction to head in."
So Abram sets out, trusting that God will show him where to go. This wasn't a "please show me what dreams to pursue over the next month" sort of thing. That is a step of faith for some.
But for Abram? This was a day-by-day thing. Forget about tomorrow.
"God, please show me where you want me to go today. I have no idea what to do about tomorrow."
I'm sure many high-school seniors have prayed something like that.
You wake up eighteen one day, and the world thinks you're an adult. They think you're mature, ready, you've got your life all figured out.
If you haven't been to this point of confusion yet, let me tell you this:
You don't just wake up mature one day. There isn't an "adult button" you can push to activate a long-term life plan.
Everybody wants to know where you're going, what purposes you've found for your life. Possibly two of the worst questions to answer, even if you're not a teenager.
Like Abraham waiting decades for his promised child, you are waiting for the seemingly impossible - the indication of your life's calling, the way you can make your difference in the world. Some days becoming a parent in your nineties can seem more likely than that.
Quite a few of us, I should think, will find a formal outlet and see (at least some) of the fruits of our labors. But some (maybe even myself?) may never really see with their own eyes the results of their work.
"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:13-16)
God's promises and purposes for us will be accomplished - "...He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
C. S. Lewis said it - how he knows: "When I find myself with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
Travel on, one day at a time. Your work is hard and holy and good.
It's a journey, friend.
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