“He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.” (Gen 12:5).

In 2002, with what we sensed was the Lord’s leading for personal development and greater fruitfulness in ministry, our family of four set out on a journey. As full-time ministers with no steady monthly income, it was a genuine test of faith. We believed God was leading us, but belief did not remove the weight of the journey. There were many days and nights of prayer, asking the Lord for strength, reassurance, and focus. Three years later, we arrived in that country and at the school the Lord had placed on our hearts.

Looking back, I now understand something more clearly: what I thought was only a journey toward school was, in fact, a journey full of training. The lessons were not waiting only at the destination. They were hidden in the ordinary days, the uncertainties, the stretching, and the small acts of obedience along the way. And many of those lessons became valuable far beyond that season.

Abraham’s journey reminds us of the same truth. In obedience to God’s call, Abraham gathered his household, his possessions, and all that belonged to him and set out from Haran toward Canaan. Scripture does not tell us much about the details of the journey. We are not told how long it took or how difficult the road was. We are simply told that they set out and that they arrived.

That sounds simple, but there is much hidden in that statement. There is always a middle. There is the part between the word God gives and the fulfillment of that word. The part between departure and arrival. The part where the excitement of starting has worn off, but the joy of arrival has not yet come. And often, that middle is where God does His deepest work in us.

Many people are eager for beginnings and celebrations but impatient with process. We are often tempted to rush through the in-between, ignore what God is teaching us there, or treat that season as an inconvenience. But what happens in the middle matters. It prepares you for where you are going. It shapes your character, deepens your faith, teaches your hands, humbles your heart, and gives you a testimony that will strengthen others.

When we overlook the importance of the journey, we often arrive wounded, regretful, or not at all. But those who walk patiently with God through the middle often discover that by the time they arrive, they have not only reached a destination; they have become a different, and better, person.

So do not despise the middle of your journey. Do not treat it as wasted time. God is using it. The delays, the prayers, the discipline, the uncertainty, the lessons, and even the disappointments are not meaningless when they are surrendered to Him. He is preparing you, not just positioning you. Because the goal is not only to arrive. It is to arrive ready for your next phase.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I ask for grace to patiently navigate every step of my journey. Help me not to rush through the process or overlook what You are teaching me along the way. Make me keen and eager to learn all that I need to learn so that I can become the person You need me to be for where You are taking me. In Jesus’ name, amen.