Abraham, during his journey to the new land God told him to go to, built different altars to God. Each altar was in response to a significant moment with the Lord. The first one being in Canaan, second in between Bethel and Ai, third in Hebron, and the fourth was on the mountain. Each altar was representative of something important in his journey, from God’s promise in Canaan to Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice that same promise on the mountain to God. Just like Abraham we all are on a journey.
My journey started with a calling, the call of salvation. Saying yes to this call placed me on a journey. On this journey significant moments occur with God where I too can stop and build an altar. One of the most important altars I have had on my journey occurred while I was in prayer and the song Worth It All by Rita Springer came on. I realized in this moment that when I follow the call of God on my life, the things I go through will be worth it in the end. The altar I built in my heart in that moment has been important for me to look back at when I go through trying seasons. Recently I moved to a new place and I know very few people, left a good paying job, left a comfortable lifestyle and all my friends. Looking back on that altar reminds me it will be worth it.
All our journeys in God can be marked with these altar moments. These moments are important for us and give us a fresh understanding of why we are doing what we are doing. They also give us something to look back on to remind us of what God has done in our lives which can help us as we go through difficult times.
However, focusing on these moments for too long or not moving on can stop us on our journey. If Abraham would have stopped and called it quits at one of his altars, he would not have completed what God called him out to do. We must remember that our altar moments are markers along the journey to help us keep moving forward in the things of God making more altars along the way. They are not stopping points, but rather starting points designed to propel us along our journey with fresh perspective.