Faith for the Journey

When we do something for the very first time it can be a little bit scary. Do you remember your very first day at school? Your mother probably went in with you to help you find your room and meet your teacher. When you got on a bicycle for the first time, someone probably walked along beside you and helped hold you up at the very beginning. That gave you confidence and soon you were riding on your own. When you went swimming for the first time, you didn't just go out and jump in the pool, did you? No, there was someone with you to hold you up until you you could swim on your own. It really helps if we have someone we trust to be with us when we are about to do something we have never done before.

Today, I brought a blindfold. What if I were to ask one of you to put on this blindfold and find your way to the back of the room and bring a hymnal back to me? How do you think you might feel? Would you be worried that you might bump into something and hurt yourself? Would you be afraid that others might laugh at you when you went the wrong direction? What if I said that I would go with you and hold your hand? You trust me, don't you? I will be with you every step. How does that make you feel? Who would like to try it? (Choose a child.) OK, Johnny, let's go.

What Johnny did this morning is similar to what Abram and Sarah experienced in today's Bible lesson. God told Abram to leave everything behind and to move to a new country. He didn't even tell him where this country was. He just said, "Go to the land that I will show you." They didn't know where they were going or what they would find when they got there. It was like they were wearing a blindfold, but they trusted God -- just like Johnny trusted me -- and like we trust our parents to help us do new things. So, even though they were a bit scared, they left everything and set out on the journey to the place that God showed them. It took many years, but God was with them and he led them to their new home.

How about you, do you ever take a journey into the unknown? Sure you do. Just about every day we face things which we have never done before. They may be a bit scary, but we know that God is with us, just as he was with Abram and Sarah. We just have to trust him to lead the way.

Father, sometimes we are afraid to go where we have not gone before. Help us to remember that you are with us wherever we go. Amen.

Resource: Adapted from a sermon by Richard J. Fairchild. Used by permission.