Can You Trust God Without Knowing the Destination?
Scripture: Genesis 12 & Matthew 9
When Life Suddenly Changes Course
Have you ever had one of those weeks when you wished you could simply go back to bed and start over?
That was the type of week I had.
It started with a text from my mom. My dad was having chest pains during a heart stress test, and when his heart rhythm suddenly became irregular, the test was stopped immediately. He was sent to the emergency room.
That was all I knew when my mom said, “I need you to come to Kettering right away.”
She was stressed because she wasn’t sure exactly where she was. Thankfully, just three weeks earlier, I had set up Apple’s Find My app so my parents could share their location with me.
I could open the app, see where they were, and get directions. In that moment, technology gave me something precious.
A location.
A direction.
A way to get there.
We Like Knowing Where We Are Going
Most of us understand that feeling. We like maps. We like GPS. We like turn-by-turn directions. We like knowing where we are, where we are going, and how long it will take to get there. But faith does not usually work that way.
God does not always give us the full map. God often gives us an invitation.
Go.
Follow.
Trust me.
That is much harder than pressing “Start Route.”
Abraham and Sarah Step Into the Unknown
When God called Abraham and Sarah, they were not given a detailed destination. They were told to leave behind their country, their kindred, and their father’s house, and go to the land God would show them.
Not the land God had already shown them. The land God would show them.
That is a different kind of journey.
They left behind security, identity, family, and familiarity. They traveled through dangerous lands, uncertain roads, and unknown places. Looking back at their route, it almost seems like they zigzagged across the map. But each stop became part of their story.
Each place became an opportunity to trust God again.
And along the way, Abraham and Sarah encountered people who did not yet know God. Their journey became more than movement from one place to another. It became a way of bearing witness to God’s promises.
Jesus Simply Says, “Follow Me”
Centuries later, Jesus called Matthew in a similar way. Matthew knew where Jesus was standing, but he did not know where Jesus was going. Jesus did not hand him a plan. He did not explain the timeline. He did not describe the risks.
He simply said, “Follow me.”
And Matthew did.
This is the pattern of faith repeated throughout Scripture. God calls people forward before they have all the information.
Abraham and Sarah followed. Matthew followed. The disciples followed.
And the journey lasted a lifetime.
Trust the Promiser, Not the Plan
For the anxious, this can be difficult. Anxiety often wants clarity before obedience. We want to know the outcome before we take the first step. But faith teaches us to trust the Promiser, not the plan.
God often reveals the way as we walk it.
Not all at once.
Not always early.
Not always on our preferred timeline.
But faithfully. For the weary, the invitation is different: remember your journey. Look back and notice where God has already carried you. Gratitude is not nostalgia. It is fuel for faith.
Each memory becomes a marker:
Here, God met me.
Here, God sustained me.
Here, God was faithful.
The God Who Goes With Us
Sometimes God’s call is geographical. Sometimes it is vocational. Sometimes it is a call toward forgiveness, reconciliation, generosity, or courage.
Whatever the call, faith asks us to move away from self-sufficiency and toward trust. We may not know the map. But we know the One who leads. And that is enough.
Like Abraham, Sarah, Matthew, and so many followers of Jesus before us, we are invited to step into the unknown with faith. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of the world God can bless through us.
The God who calls us forward is also the God who goes with us.
Reflection
Where might God be asking you to take the next faithful step, even without knowing the full map?
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