It was a very difficult decision. And rightly so. He had received a job offer from America. However there was no job offer for his wife. It meant that both of them had to resign from their positions here in Malaysia and relocate to the U.S. With their very young daughter. It was a tough call.
Since they took their faith seriously they wanted to know God’s will on the matter. They did it by the book. They prayed. They searched the Scriptures. They sought Godly counsel. Their faith and their marriage were tested. Finally, they decided. They would go.
At first things went well. The family settled quickly. The job was challenging. Then the Enron scandal broke. His company was next in line to fall. The family came back for a holiday. They met up with a small circle of friends. We were concerned. The nay sayers were already saying that the couple had heard God wrong. They were not meant to go to the States. The couple told their stories. It was crystal clear that the both of them had grown in their faith. Their daughter was growing well. Their marriage was strong. Their life in Christ robust.
Was it God’s will for them to move to the States? I thought so. But I may be wrong. I didn’t receive a vision from God on the matter. Whether they were meant to take the journey to the States is debatable. But their journey of faith had made significant progress.
Which leads me to believe that at the end of the day, our journey of faith may be more significant than any physical journey we take. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that Christ is the Lord of our lives. And it matters to Him whether we are meant to be in Kuala Lumpur. Or New York. Or Bhutan. Indeed, in these days of the global village, more and more of us will be struggling with questions as to whether we should cross borders and make our homes “in a foreign land”. I am just suggesting that God may be more concerned with our internal journey than with our external journey.
Take Abraham’s journey to a distant land (Genesis 12:1-9). It was a journey to Canaan. But more important, it was a journey into faith. Indeed Abraham is remembered in the New Testament not so much as the traveler to Canaan but as the man of faith (Romans 4: 1-5). Abraham’s external journey was his journey to Canaan. But what really mattered was his internal journey, his journey of faith. His external journey provided the context for his internal one.
Maybe the primary question is not where we should live. But who we are. And who we are becoming. If we are clear as to the answers to those questions, it should also become clearer where we should be.