Day 3: Go Forth

There are many times in the Bible where God asks someone to “go forth,” to leave their current location and venture into another place, whether temporarily or permanently. Abraham, Elijah, Ezekiel, and Jesus’ disciples all had to go forth from where they were in order to experience God in a new, powerful way. They had to leave places of comfort to find God in new lands, the wilderness, or among foreign peoples. 

When God told Abraham (then Abram) to leave his native land and transplant his entire family, Abram obeyed. He did not know his final destination yet trusted God to lead him, eventually settling in Canaan, where he and his descendants prospered. 

Elijah and Ezekiel both encountered the Divine in astounding and memorable ways when they obeyed and went to the mountain and plains as God commanded them, respectively.

The disciples accepted Jesus’ command to go into unknown places to spread the Gospel and baptize nations at the risk of their lives and, in doing so, discovered the power of the Holy Spirit that accompanied them. 

I imagine each one’s journeys as they followed God into the unknown. Without a map, far from those who knew them, vulnerable. Perhaps they felt alone or anxious at times, wondering where the next step would take them or uncertain if they would ever return or find home. 

We constantly have the choice between staying in our stable, secure places of comfort or going forth into the challenging space beyond. Eventually, those new places will become more comfortable as we allow ourselves to be in them and learn and grow. And we can, in some ways, return “home” – whether that refers to deep within ourselves, certain people, a former place of residence, a place of worship, etc. – to recharge and reconnect with who we are. 

For some of us, mission means being called to a distant place. The itinerant lifestyle is a tough one, constantly on the move and lacking the stability of a rooted life. I think for the majority of people, going forth means reaching out to those around us while still maintaining a stable home base. It is not so much a physical going forth as it is a spiritual one, leaving our habitual conversations, routines, and expectations and finding what God has waiting for us in the spaces beyond. We are invited to ask new questions, allow for interruptions and detours, and open our lives to people who are not like us or our friends. It will feel vulnerable; you may experience rejection, resistance, or indifference from others as you go forth. May we take courage, however, that the same God who led Abraham, Elijah, Ezekiel, and the disciples is leading us today and will work through and around us as we walk forward in obedience and trusting confidence. 

Question for Reflection: In what ways is God calling you to go forth? What attachments – fears, possessions, people, attitudes, etc. – are holding you back from accepting God’s invitation?