The Daily

Transportation in the scriptures may have included animals, chariots, and boats, but the most common form of travel was by foot. Today, we can get from point A to point B in so many other creative ways like trains, planes, and automobiles. The modern list goes on. We have Segways, scooters, smart wheels, etc.

Humanity continues to master the art of getting places quickly and efficiently. But, Jesus chose to come during a time in history when the main form of travel was slow. What, then, can we learn from Jesus by the way he traveled from place to place?

Matthew 9:35-38 says, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ’The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”

1. Jesus had a lifestyle of travel. “He went through all the towns and villages…” Matthew 9:35a
2. Jesus lived out his identity and purpose wherever he went. “… teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Matthew 9:35b
3. Jesus paid attention to what his Father was revealing. “When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’.” Matthew 9:36-37
4. Jesus modeled talking with his Father as he went about his travels. “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:38

We don’t have to embrace a lifestyle of geological travel like Jesus, but as we go from point A to point B in our day, we can travel as Jesus did by embracing our God-given identity and looking for God’s revelations.

Imagine yourself in the following experiences: How might you connect with God while driving? While on an airplane? While biking or on another form of transportation?

No matter where we need to travel to and from today, you can connect with the Lord. Just as Ruth pleaded with Naomi to be close to her wherever they would travel next, use her words as a prayer for your travels today. Lord Jesus, “don’t urge me to leave you … Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.” (‭‭Ruth‬ ‭1:16a).

Pilgrimage: a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance.

In 1977, just one year after the infamous hijacking of Air France flight 139 from Tel Aviv to Paris, I started my two week pilgrimage to Israel aboard an El Al flight from D.C. to Tel Aviv. I stayed with friends in Herzliya and Jerusalem while I explored places of biblical and historical significance. Every part of the country was under perpetual high alert for terrorist attacks but, for some reason, I felt safe.

Israel has always had perilous hotspots. In Jesus’ day one of them was the road going up from Jericho to Jerusalem (parable of the Good Samaritan). In the days of the Temple, all roads going up to Jerusalem had certain dangers. When faithful Jews made pilgrimages through the mountains surrounding Jerusalem for the three required festivals, they would sing the 15 songs of Ascents or Pilgrimage found in Psalms 120 – 135. Jesus would have sung these songs every year as his family traveled from Nazareth to worship in the holy city.

Psalm 121 (CSB) reminded pilgrims that the LORD was their Protector whatever route they took.

I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.

Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.

The LORD protects you;
the LORD is a shelter right by your side.

The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.

The LORD will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.

The LORD will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.

It seems to me the second verse is key when engaging in unfamiliar or dangerous travel.

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He’s made heaven and earth…if he’s the one who leads me, there’s no place he isn’t sovereign. Furthermore, my ultimate destiny is already settled when I’m trusting him.

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. (Hebrews 13:14 ESV)

Take a look at the first two minutes of this video showing the road from Jericho to Jerusalem that Jesus walked just prior to his crucifixion on his way to the festival of Passover. Then, envision an unfamiliar place you believe God wants you to visit – or a spiritual destiny where he is leading you. Read Psalm 121 above and trust the LORD to protect you as you travel.

Pilgrim: a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons.

In the summer of 2015, my husband and I traveled a thousand miles by car in Norway. We started in Bergen and zipped around the fjords, mountains, and through tunnels to end up in Trondheim. While traveling, we stayed in several AirBnBs. The last one was a modern farmhouse 50 miles from Trondheim. We were curious about two extremely weathered buildings on the property and found they were reserved for pilgrims who had walked almost 400 miles on the St. Olav Ways pilgrim trail route from Oslo to Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.

We conversed with one German pilgrim who confirmed that several wooden churches we had seen on our car trip were part of her journey. Ancient Christian pilgrim routes like St. Olav Ways have recently become more traveled – not just by Christians, but by those looking for some kind of spiritual experience.

Formal pilgrim walking journeys to sacred places are part of ancient European Christian history, but also include well traveled paths to shrines throughout the world. Some examples are the Temple in Jerusalem, the Kaaba in Mecca, Kumano Kodō in Japan, Machu Picchu in the Andes, Mount Kailash in Tibet, or Haridwar along the Ganges. Pilgrimage seems hardwired into human experience.

I’d like to think the following pilgrimage is one Christians should emulate:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. (Genesis 12:1 ESV)

In amazing obedience to God, Abram became a pilgrim from Haran to Shechem and eventually the Negev – walking over 600 miles. Here’s another part of that pilgrimage:

Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” (Genesis 13:17 ESV)

The pilgrimage directions given to the prophet Micah and by Peter are not only about who to walk with but what to do and what to abstain from on the way:

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 ESV)

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (I Peter 2:11 ESV)

And, the writer of Hebrews penned a poignant reminder about the sacred destiny of Christian pilgrims:

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. (Hebrews 13:14 ESV)

Meditate on one of these verses as you go on a walk sometime in the next few days. Ask God to infuse that walk with his presence and give you a new perspective. Ask him to give you a way to make it a sacred journey. Here are perspectives from Arthur Blessitt and Ann Sieben who each have spent substantial years walking thousands of miles through many countries as Christian pilgrims.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2) NKJV

Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. ( Psalm 119:24) NKJV

And I will walk in liberty for I seek Your precepts.(Psalm 119:45)
And I will delight myself in Your commandments which I love.
(Psalm 119:47) NKJV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105) NKJV

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6) MSG

Most of my walking this week will be close to home as I spend time asking questions and listening for answers from a variety of people about some projects I’m working on. I get in a lot of walking while I wait “in line” on the phone for the next available customer service person. I appreciate my Apple watch, because it records my steps, activity, stairs climbed, oxygen level and heartbeat among other things.

This week, since some of my family are out of town, I am using alone time to practice solitude, silence, scripture meditation and prayer, as I care for some extra details of maintaining the house and yard. All of them include lots of walking, stair climbing and lifting. As I work, I practice listening to God say “Yes, no, and not yet,” especially as it is easy for me to get distracted from the task I’m on by something else I see that needs doing. The above scriptures are ones that encourage my focus on the Lord as I go about my day.

Take some time this week to ask God how you can draw closer to him in the ordinary activities of your life. Meditate on the above scriptures and ask the Lord to show you other verses that encourage you.

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5 NIV

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant Psalm 25:9-10 NIV

Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. Psalm 26:2-3 NIV

“Watch your step; choose your path carefully; look where you are going”. These are different ways of saying: “make wise choices in how, where, and when you choose to walk”. Imagine a young child who is still unsteady on their feet; the adult with the child may say similar things to guide the young one, to keep the child’s attention on where he or she puts his or her next step.

Our Heavenly Father gives us similar advice. Read Psalm 25 and Psalm 26. As you read, look for words that pertain to walking, sitting, paths to take, and who does the teaching and leading. Pay attention to the verbs in these two psalms and who is described as doing these actions. Did you see that we all have choices to make? Sometimes David describes how he has walked, or sometimes he is asking God to do something for him.

“Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” (Psalm 26:2-3) David asked God to look at his innermost character, his motivations, his thoughts, and to determine if David was making right, wise, and godly choices. David’s request reveals he was humble, that he admitted he needed God’s guidance and advice on how, where and when to walk.

Just like a young child, we all can choose to listen to the wise advice given us, or we can run headlong down a bumpy, dangerous, and ill advised route. In these two psalms, I see David asking for God’s guidance, seeking God’s truth, keeping his eyes on God’s faithfulness and love shown to David in his past, in order to enable David to make wise choices in how to walk in the future.

We all make choices in how we walk everyday. We can choose to obey or disobey God: we can choose to walk by our faith in God, or to walk by sight only. We can choose our path by following God’s truth, or by listening to false teaching that others profess. We can choose to walk in righteousness or in wickedness. Take some time today, respond to these psalms in prayer of confession. Admit before God: choices you have made – paths you have taken – that might have been unwise or bad.