Journeys can be tough

Dear family,

All of you, or most of you anyway, know that i am a movie buff. I love movies. I use movies to help tell God's story and the Gospel. I love that movies are picture books to our journeys, and we can, more time than we realize, find that we have much in common with the characters. I sense that is what makes a movie successful. How does the audience relate to the characters? If the audience doesn't, than there is a chance the movie will flop, but if the characters and the story relate to life, than it makes us feel better.

I add this paragraph only because i want to, once again, return us to Middle Earth and Tolkein's novel, "Lord of the Rings." In the story, which is really seven books thrown into one amazing trilogy, Frodo has been given the task of destroying the "Ring of Power." This ring, which is a metaphor for sin, controls and destroys whoever wears it. Frodo realizes this, but it is still his call to carry this ring for the entire journey from the Shire to the gates of evil itself in Mordor. But it is his task, his calling, his duty, and he makes the journey, with all the highs and lows that come with any journey. And along the way i sense, if Frodo were real, he would acknowledge that this journey was God given. So in essence, this trek, this expedition becomes a pilgrimmage.

As any journey becomes a pilgrimmage when God ordains it.

What does Frodo have to do with Genesis 28? Everything. In our text, Jacob is on a journey. He is running from his poor choices. But he is also going after a wife, with the intentions, eventually, of returning and claiming his inheritance. So he sets off for a distant land. He is going to go from Hebron, just south of Jerusalem, to north of Syria. And he is going alone. No bodyguards. No servants. Nothing. He is alone.

But is he really alone? His first night who visits? God. And why? Because God has a promise to reiterate to Jacob. Jacob's descendants will be as numerous as the dusts of the earth, and on top of that, God was going to walk with Jacob for the rest of his days. When God makes that promise to Jacob, Jacob's journey goes from being an expedition to a far away land, to a pilgrimmage ordained and guided by God. Will Jacob face difficulties? Yes. Ask Laban about how he takes advantage of Jacob. Ask Jacob about a wrestling match. And ask them all about how Jacob will have to return, to his brother, who still is angry about Jacob's deception. It isn't an easy journey waiting for Jacob, but it is his task, his calling. And as Jacob continues to go, where God leads, God provides and bears fruit.

So it is with our journey folks. We are on our own spiritual pilgrimmage. We don't know where we are going. We dont know how was are going to get there. We dont even know what waits for us when we do get there. Jacob knew all those answers, so in essence, our faith journey, our pilgrimmage needs more faith. And here is the beautiful thing about faith, the more you have, the more you trust in our God, the more you go, blindly, where He leads, the more He shows Himself to you/us.

Our church is facing an unknown future. We have a lot of questions about budget, direction, leadership, and many more unknowns, but if we simply go to our God, in prayer, in seeking, in knocking, He will grant us the desires of our hearts. If we need resources, God will provide if we ask Him. He did so for Jacob. If we need more leaders, God will bring them up, if we ask. And if we need direction, God will illumine our path, but we must trust Him in lighting the way. We have to let go of what we want, and we must surrender to God's will.

When that happens, our journey becomes a spiritual pilgrimmage that leads us into our own promised land. Lets go. Saddle up. The journey is long, but God is waiting. Amen..

Shalom,
jerry