In Transit
Genesis 12: So Abram left…He moved on…Abram went down…So Abram left.
I imagine there was a lot of excitement in that first “so Abram left” moment. The Lord had directed him to go and now, Abram, his family, and his belongings were moving out to a promised and glorious unknown place. That first step goes off without a hitch and in a relatively short time the travelers find themselves in the Promised Land of Canaan. That’s when things get complicated. Canaan’s already occupied and there’s no place for Abram and family. He moves on and settles down, at least until a famine hits the area. He moves again, relocating to Egypt. Abram and company are now as far to the southwest of Canaan as he had been to the northeast when his journey began. In a few years they’re all kicked out of Egypt and end up back in Canaan. However, even now they’re outsiders and aren’t really accepted as residents. What started out as an exciting relocation to the Promised Land has become an uncertain life with no permanency for Abram and his family. Years have passed since that original exodus and they’ve become a tribe of nomads rather than possessors of a land to call their own. If Abram had known this journey would fill the most of his life I wonder if he would have left in the first place. Being the hero he is my guess is “yes.” However, when I internalize his story, I wonder how I’m doing in the similar circumstances of my life. Years ago, the Lord called me to follow him. He promised that he’s building a city and has a place in it just for me. As I travel through life, I tend to treat each step as though it’s permanent. I amass possessions, settle down, and behave as though I’ve arrived at the destination promised me at the beginning of the journey. It took Abraham a lifetime to actually arrive. Everything else was “in transit.” So it is in my life. I want to appreciate the moment; after all, God’s good to me. However, I also want to remember that, like Abraham, I’m also “in transit.”
Take away: Appreciate the moment, but don’t forget this is just a part of a great journey.