I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
Isaiah 42:16
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.
In the city of Medeba in Jordan many ancient mosaics have been found. One is of particular interest. It’s a map of the region, including much of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Large chunks are missing, but it’s been used to help locate some otherwise unknown sites.
Our final stop in Jordan was Mount Nebo. This was the place where Moses looked over the land before he died. He had led the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years, but the Lord said he would not enter the land. Simply this glimpse would be all he got.
As we looked out that afternoon, all we saw was haze. The Jordan River wasn’t even visible. The land dropped in front of us into the Rift Valley, disappearing into a tan nothingness. However, we received an important lesson. The land of Israel was beyond our sight, but was as solid and real as it had always been. We would be driving west soon and would re-enter the land. In the same way, God has not made our paths visible very far ahead. We simply need to start going in the right direction and trust that more will be revealed as we go. With just three weeks left of my travels, I have to wonder where is God taking me. How will he use what he’s been teaching me here? The path forward is not clear. It’s somewhat like having a map with missing pieces.