When God called Abram in Genesis 12, He didn’t hand him a map. No clear blueprint. Just a promise, “Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:1-2)

Abram didn’t have the full picture, just a whisper of promise and a call to trust. Yet in faith, he moved. And as he journeyed, he paused to build altars so he could worship, remember, and mark the holy moments when God’s presence met him along the way.

Oh, friends!! My heart is full. My spiritual fountain is overflowing. This weekend, I served on a R.O.C.K. retreat for teens… a space set apart, holy ground where God moved in unexpected ways. Like Abram, I didn’t know everything God would do when I arrived, but oh, He showed up! And now, my heart is stirred to build an altar—not out of stone but out of remembrance. A place within me to say: “Here is where I met God. Here is where His promise echoed louder than my uncertainty.”

There are treasures from this weekend I can’t fully explain, (Of course, the weekend holds holy, sacred personal stories.) But what I want to share with you all this morning is this: The promises of God far outweigh the need to know every detail of the journey ahead and we need to remember His faithfulness.

I never know where I’m going to end up in my devotion time. This morning, I wasn’t sure why the Holy Spirit led me to Genesis 12, but when I got to verse 7, I highlighted it and made notes in my Bible to remind me of R.O.C.K. #55. In Genesis 12:7, after God appears to Abram and reaffirms the promise, Abram builds an altar. And then he keeps moving.

Step by step. I have seen this played out in my life so many times. Maybe you have, too. You know, where we have no idea where we’re headed, but God does. We don’t always realize in the journey that God is there in every step, but suddenly we get to a destination, a stop along the way, and we take a scan of the view and the reality hits and we see what God has done.

While this weekend was not at all about me, it was about these amazing young people. God showed me something, too. (Several things, actually. I’m still processing. Thank you, Jesus!) Not only did I learn from the faith of these fantastic youth, but I learned that I needed to take a pause in my journey exactly at this moment and build an altar. This past year-and-a-half has been an amazing journey as Jeff and I have found the church home we have longed for.

This is what the Spirit has given me to share with you today, friends…

You and I, like Abram and Sarai, we’re pilgrims, too. Not just visitors of sacred weekends, but travelers toward the next place God will lead us. It’s okay if you don’t have all the answers. It’s okay if you’re still waiting on the “where” and “how.” What matters is the Who—the God who calls, who goes with you, who reminds you to stop and build altars in the in-between spaces. (And for the record, as I survey all the places I’ve been, they’ve mattered in the journey. That’s how I know God’s been with me all along.)

So this morning, I invite you:
Build your altar.
Pause and remember where God met you.
Trust that His promises still stand.
And then… take the next step.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand.