Providing for the Journey

Jim:

1 Kings 19:1-9
To me verse 7 sheds light on the nature of God’s providence. “The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched (Elijah), and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’” Faith is a journey. Our relationship with God is likewise a journey moving us from one place to another, onwards toward the coming kingdom. God provides for that journey just as God watches over the journey and joins us in the journey. Sitting still is not an option because it is simply not a reality. Elijah was running for his life, but he did not really understand what God was doing. The journey became one of discovery for the prophet and he was provided for in that effort by God.

Ephesians 4:1-16
Among a lot of wonderful verses in this passage I find verse 15 to be apt today, especially when considering the journey of faith. “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up on every way into him who is the head, into Christ…” As the Oxford Annotated Bible points out, speaking here is used to mean both saying and doing. In other words we are to speak and act truly and in love as we “grow up in every way.” And our growing in faith is the journey that we are on. So not only does God provide nourishment for the trip, but through Paul God provides direction as well. In truth and love we are to journey toward Christ.

John 6:1-14
And here again we find a story of God providing for the journey. Verse 2 says, “A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.” For whatever reason, people were attracted to Jesus and journeyed with him, in this case to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. And there Jesus showed his concern for the crowd by feeding them, all 5,000 or more, with only five loaves and two fish. The journey did not end here, of course. Jesus still had to travel on to his passion, and the crowd would have to decide whether or not to make that trip with him—a decision we are still challenged to make. But in the mean time God was providing for the journey, often in surprising ways. May God continue to do so!