Life is filled with new journeys. Some are paths we’d rather not go down. The unknown can be scary because it is, well the unknown. We get comfortable with the way things are. Even if these things are not wonderful- they are what we know. God understands. I know because tucked in Genesis is an example of His tenderness.
In the book of Genesis is the story of Joseph. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, and through many trials, was raised to be Pahroah’s right hand man. In the meantime, famine hit his father Israel-Jacob and his 11 brothers hard. Joseph was in a position to help out and told them to come live with him in Egypt. Sounds wonderful, right? Israel-Jacob would see his beloved son he thought was long dead and gone. He and his family wouldn’t starve. Yet . . .it was the unknown. It meant leaving all he had known all his life. Read what God tells him –
And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.” (Genesis 46:2-4 ESV)
I have been in many new situations. For the last ten years of my husband’s life, we moved 7 times to 7 new cities. I had been uprooted so many times I was an air plant. He died suddenly within a 18 months of us moving here. Yet, God knew my deepest desires. He gave me fertile soil in this new city and my roots began to inch in and take hold. I have been blessed with great and true friends, and a good life – even if it is as a starving writer! There is nothing else I’d rather do. God has gone down with me and is bringing me back up. At last, I feel as if I actually have a home, a purpose and a future. Who knew? Oh, yeah. That would be my Heavenly Father.
No matter what we go through, God will go there with us and bring us back out of it. Not only that, during the process He has plans to answer a few of our heart-felt prayers along the way. Keep that in your soul if you are suddenly thrust into a new situation. Whisper it over and over. “Do not be afraid- I will go down with you and will also bring you up again.”
Whether it is a physical move or a move into a new lifestyle like going off to college, a new job, unemployment, retirement, marriage, divorce, empty nesting, or a having a baby – God is with you every step of the way.
