I was at a place where I had to make one of the most difficult decisions of my life.
The choice before me was never one I anticipated making. Moving churches, homes, and cities was not on the radar for our family. If God was in this transition, why was it so hard? It seemed apparent that God was pointing in directions that we had not considered.
I was at the place where I had to lead our family in one direction or the other, and I was overwhelmed by the weight of it all. I kept telling myself, “This wasn’t the plan. I don’t even have this on the map. At this point in my life, I don’t even know where to go.”
And then God’s Word spoke to me in such a real and tangible way. Someone who had no idea what was going on with me shared a verse that had recently impacted them. It was Hebrews 11:8. When I heard it, I was floored.
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 [Heb. 11:8].
In that moment, God’s Word intersected my life yet again and reminded me that sometimes God messes with our calendars, our plans, and even our maps.
God can call us to go even when we don’t know where we are going.
Abraham left his home to follow God, he was honestly unsure of where he was going. He agreed to leave before he understood the destination.
Would I be willing to say “yes” to God without having all the specifics lined out? Would I be obedient to step out in faith even if I didn’t know where I was going?
Overwhelmed by the implications of that verse, I tried to avoid it. I was driving around one day and had my music set to shuffle when a song came on that I hadn’t heard in a long time. As the song continued, I almost skipped it because how the words were convicting me.
What good is it to gain the whole world,
And, along the way, lose my soul?
I will follow You.
I’m unsure of the way but sure of who’s leading,
And with all I have to the last breath I’m breathing,
I will follow You.
I will follow Your every single step,
I will follow in life or by death.
No matter the cost, I’ll take up my cross,
I will not turn away.
Unable to turn the song off, I became overwhelmed by the words but especially due to the nature of the song. With some friends at church, I helped pen those words. Years before, I had been the author of the song that was convicting me to my core! That song was meant for other people – not me. And yet in God’s sovereignty and timing, he had been working a plan together for a long time.
Would I follow? Would I go without knowing where I was going?
On the other side of things, I can say with full assurance:
If God is leading you somewhere, there is no other place you would rather be.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult. Challenges are ahead.
God calls us to good things but not always easy things.
Maybe God is leading you. He doesn’t always give us the specifics because if he did, he knows we wouldn’t seek him as much as we do in our desperation. Like Abraham, could you go out not even knowing the destination?
It’s OK to be unsure of the way if you know who’s leading.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.