Journey of the Upward Way

Journey of the Upward Way

Can you imagine starting on a journey not knowing the destination or the length of time the trip will take? It sounds foolish, doesn’t it? But that is what God asked of Abram (later Abraham). In Genesis 12:1, God said, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to a land that I will show you.”

The amazing thing is, Abraham obeyed.

Because we live on the completed side of Abraham’s life, our minds jump to the completion of the story when Joshua led the children of Israel in claiming the land given to their great ancestor. The perils of the journey are glossed over when we see the fulfillment of the original promise.

But the perils of Abraham’s journey are enough to discourage even the bravest soul and bewilder the wisest observer. For example, Abraham was told in verse seven that the land of Canaan would be given to his descendents. Abraham celebrated God’s commitment by building an altar to recount the promise, then he wandered southward toward the Negev Desert. Why he didn’t remain in the promised land is never told.

The next verses describe the circumstances that forced the patriarch toward Egypt and provoked him to deceive the Egyptian king. Abraham presented Sara, his wife, as his sister. At first, the results were good. The king fancied Sara and took her as a wife. The king was generous to Abraham because of Sarah and he prospered financially. But when the king learned the truth, he drove Abraham from the land.

In chapter 20, Abraham resorted to the same deception again, this time with Abimelech. Both times, Abraham’s fears caused him to lie and use his wife’s body to protect himself.

The preceding chapters tell harrowing tales as well as describe personal woes. Abraham’s nephew Lot was not careful about his friends and ended up an enemy’s prisoner. Abraham successfully rescued Lot with a surprise attack.

God revealed to Abraham that the city of Sodom would be destroyed. Abraham was taken aback. Lot lived there. Abraham pleaded for the city. In the end, the city was destroyed, but because of Abraham (Gen. 19:29), God spared Lot. One can almost see the small band of refugees fleeing the city as balls of fire, like a meteor shower, fall on Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah.

There are stories of family strife — jealousy between Sarah and Hagar, the woman she chose to bare Abraham a child when she could not. Much is made of the almost miraculous circumstances surrounding the subsequent birth of Isaac — Sarah’s son — and the resulting sibling rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael, Hagar’s boy.

Abraham and Sarah had tried to work out their future themselves rather than waiting on God. But their plans never prospered. Sorrow plagued Abraham as he was forced to banish Hagar and Ishmael into the desert, when Sarah died and when he sent other children away in order to protect Isaac’s inheritance.

In the end, Abraham died without realizing his journey’s goal. He never possessed the promised land. Neither did his son Isaac nor his grandson Jacob nor his great-grandson Joseph. Not even Joseph’s great-grandchildren saw the fulfillment of God’s promise.

From this perspective the story sounds strangely familiar. It is like our stories. We follow a vision, a dream, a calling but never seem to arrive at the destination of which we planned.

Circumstances cause us to change course. Sometimes fear triggers a defensive reaction in us and we deceive ourselves, as well as others. When progress toward our destination is not made on our timetables, we take things into our own hands. We seem to trust our own resources rather than God’s.

Our journeys, even our upward journeys toward God, are marked by stumbles, disappointments and sorrows. Like Abraham, we reach the end of our days having not yet reached the promised land.

Does that mean we failed; does that mean Abraham failed? No.

In Hebrews 11:8, Abraham is described as a man of faith because when God called, Abraham obeyed. Yes, he wandered. Yes, he lived in tents. Yes, he endured. And always he “looked forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10).

The destination of Abraham’s journey was more than a piece of land. It was also a relationship with God. That is why Hebrews 11:16 declares that “they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one.” To reach the destination of that journey, Abraham had to walk by faith in God.

So do we. God invites each of us to a journey on the upward way, a journey toward Him. Along the way, we may stumble, we may alter our paths, we may take things into our own hands, we may experience disappointment and sorrow and things may not work out like we anticipate. But like Abraham, we must keep our eyes fixed on the destination of our journey and walk by faith.

As surely as God brought the children of Israel into the promised land, He will bring us to our goal of eternity with Him.