I Don't Know Where I'm Going, and Why That's Okay
By Trevin Wax on Oct 4, 2007 in Missions / Evangelism, Reaching Romania | 
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Abraham obeyed God’s call to move to a different country, even though he didn’t know where he was going. Abraham puzzles me. How could the guy have enough faith to believe that God had called him to a land that wasn’t even specified? I mean, if I had been in Abraham’s shoes, I would have questioned my sanity and wondered if I hadn’t been spending too much time alone in the desert looking for the occasional cactus.
I’ve always wondered how Abraham knew that God had called him. Was it a voice from the sky? Was it an inner whisper? Was it a magnetic pull towards the Promised Land? Whatever it was, it must have made Abraham sure that God was calling him. How else can you justify moving from home to a foreign land, so foreign that you don’t even know what or where it is?
Abraham also makes me a little mad. After all, he totally upstages all the missionaries in history. Here he goes, off towards “he doesn’t know where,” in total faith in the One who has called him. Whatever can be said about the sacrifices of missionaries, usually, they knew where they were going. I have yet to hear missionaries get up in church and ask for financial support and not know what country God has called them to. I confess I probably wouldn’t reach too quickly into my wallet to fund someone without a destination or a plan.
There is one way I can relate to Abraham, though. Just like he didn’t know where he was going, when I moved to Romania, I didn’t know what was coming. Of course, I knew the country God had called me to. God had left no doubt in my mind. But I had no idea what that move would mean. It’s one thing to know a country’s earthly location and quite another to know what that location holds. I can know I’m heading for a jungle in Africa, without knowing what a jungle in Africa is like.
Sometimes I think that my coming to Romania was a similar experience. To me, it might as well have been a jungle.
Today, people ask me if we plan on moving back to Romania one day. Or if we plan on focusing on the ministry in the United States. Or if we have felt the call to go somewhere else. These are fair questions.
My answer? “I don’t know.” It sounds trite, but I say it anyway. “God hasn’t shown us yet.” A simple answer. I sometimes get strange looks from those who (I suppose) think we should have our future completely figured out by now. But I take comfort in knowing that in some small sense, I’m just doing what the faithful have done ever since Abraham left his country. One day at a time. Walking with our Lord. Seeing where he leads.
written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog
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Trevin, again, another post in which I can relate to! I’ve struggled with this very thing ever since I arrived at seminary (7 1/2 years ago!). It was, in fact, the passage in Hebrews on God’s call on Abraham that the Lord used to confirm His call on me to attend seminary. I did not know why I was going to seminary, I just knew that He called me. And, almost eight years in (I had to take time due to family additions!), I have a general sense of where the Lord is leading me to serve Him ministerially, but I still do not have a clear picture. However, God has taught me as He has shown you – it’s one day at a time, trusting in Him.
Brother, please know that this is not written to gain “blog-cred” with you; rather, it’s written from a kindred heart. Many times throughout my time in seminary I struggled over seeing fellow seminarians have a clear call from the Lord, knowing exaclty what path they were to follow while I felt that my path was either overgrown with weeds and unmarked. But time and time again, the Lord reminded me of the passage he used to call me to seminary – Abraham knew not where he was going, but his trust was in the Lord and daily he walked in this trust.
Thank you again for your post. I hope we have the opportunity of meeting someday!
Regards,
Danny
Danny McDonald | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Genesis 11:31 indicates that Abraham’s father Terah had departed Ur with the intention of going to the land of Canaan and taken Abram with him, but wound up settling in Haran partway there. It seems as though Abraham may have had some clue of where the Lord would lead him.
G. F. McDowell | Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
Hebrews 11 says that Abraham believed God and followed him, “even though he didn’t know where he was going.”
trevinwax | Oct 5, 2007 | Reply
Hi Danny,
Thanks for your post. I’m glad it was encouraging to you. I think that we evangelicals tend to make the call of God a mystical “burning in the bosom” type experience. That may be true for some people, but it certainly is not the way God deals with all of us.
It’s a long walk of obedience, day by day, trusting the Lord that he’s got a plan and knows where he’s taking us. Sometimes I want to speed up the plan. Sometimes I want out. Sometimes I wonder what he’s up to. But ultimately, that’s where the Trust factor comes in. And I guess that’s where God wants us anyway…
trevinwax | Oct 5, 2007 | Reply
Based on my understanding, a founder of a religion is very different from his followers. A founder of a religion is on a very specific course and is not an ordinary soul; they have a specific role to play in order for the tree of religions to grow. Abraham came at a time when there was the worship of deities being practiced. People were getting pulled away from one God and he was there to remind them: There is only one God. Each founder comes at specific times with a special message about the times they are living in. Considering all the major founders, each message was accurate for its time because of what we were doing. Whether it be an Eastern or Western founder, the messages were to help stop unvirtuous thoughts, words and actions because these were causing pain and sorrow for the self and others. The more history unfolded the further away from the Truth we got. With time, we can see that the decline still took place, no matter who brought the message. These days, no matter the religion or path we are on, it is a challenge to be able to walk the talk. Wishing you all well.
Joanne | Jun 15, 2009 | Reply