South by Stages

Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.

Genesis 12:9

The film Out of Africa is based on the autobiography of Karen Blixen, a tenacious Danish woman who lived at the turn of the twentieth century in Kenya. While her husband commanded troops on the front during the First World War, local British authorities urged Blixen to abandon her coffee farm and flee to safety with all other women and children in the area. When she learned her husband and his unit needed provisions, Blixen decided to deliver them herself, defying all odds and traveling a long distance through desert and danger, leading a caravan of cattle and provisions.

Day after grueling day, Karen traveled on by stages. Along the way, she encountered the fearsome Maasai warriors. One night she fought a lion as he attacked her prize cattle. Yet she rose each morning, checked her compass, and pressed on to the next stage, weary yet resolute.

When she finally arrived at her husband’s camp, men came running, shouting for their commander. They thought they saw a mirage rising from the heat waves of the Kenyan bush country. Or was it an enemy approaching? It was Blixen, her hair in disarray, face streaked with dirt, smile shining as bright as the sun. She made it, and so did the provisions. The men surrounded her, some marveling, some criticizing such audacious, unorthodox behavior from a woman.

A stage is defined as a point, period, or step in a process or development. With each stage in her dangerous journey across the bush of Africa, Karen Blixen was developing. The woman who emerged from the dust with a caravan of provisions had been through a process of transformation. She was not the same woman who had left her coffee farm so many weeks before. She had become a history changer, an overcomer who could face warriors and lions yet survive.

In modern society, we don’t want to travel by stages. We want the fastest route, the most efficient and direct path. In Karen Blixen’s shoes, we might open a GoFundMe account and ship provisions to our spouse via Amazon or DHL with a love note and some chocolates tucked in. 

But the Lord rarely leads in tidy, direct methods. He prefers to lead us on by stages. #guidance Share on X

God is determined to take us through whatever steps will aid our development into mature disciples. He led Abram in stages, and each one was critical to Abram’s transformation. Abram, “exalted father,” was never meant to remain as he was called in the beginning. He was destined for more, to become Abraham, “father of multitudes”. And this is indeed who he was in the end.

God orders our lives in stages for our transformation. He is our compass. He gives us the courage to face and defeat our enemy, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour. The Lord gives us companions on the way, wise counselors who help us pace ourselves and hold on to hope. When we finally reach our destination, we will find we have changed. 

Those who travel on by stages with the Lord will grow mature; they will be overcomers who have faced lions and survived. 

And according to Revelation 2:17, like Abraham, we too will receive a new name. 

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Lord, let Your transformation have its work in me as I continue to travel on in stages with You. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Image by DKunert from Pixabay