“The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Noah. Abraham. Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. John the Baptist. Jesus. Apostle Paul and essentially all of the disciples.

God sends some of His favorite folks out into the unknown.

I woke up just ahead of my alarm this morning, already thinking about my brother’s Monday morning brain surgery. I woke up to the divine realization that he and I are in good company. It’s neat how sometimes God speaks to us before we are really awake, in that foggy stretch between asleep and alert. And sometimes those thoughts make more sense than anything else we might think of the rest of the day.

I had to repeat it. I had to turn it over in my mind, like a pebble in hand, to make sure I could hang on to it. Sleepy thoughts slip away so suddenly

God sends some of His favorite folks out into the unknown.

This is faith; taking brave steps forward while you are still afraid.

The beautiful thing is that God always meets His people in the wilderness. We are never abandoned there. Even the cast aside maidservant, Hagar, learned that the God of Abraham saw her, too, in the dustiest stretch of her life. He sees us in the wilderness and sustains us supernaturally. And then He gets the singular glory in our story.

He takes us to unknown places so we might know Him better. And trust Him more.

“For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Lord, we trust You even when we are unsure where You are leading us. We know that walking blind only increases our confidence in Your character. Give us the guts to take the first step. Meet us in the midst of this wilderness. Lead us to the Promised Land. Amen.