Genesis 11:1-4 – “1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they had for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
“Here they decided to build a city, and in it a tower of such stupendous height as should render it the wonder of the world. These enterprises were designed to prevent the people from scattering abroad in colonies. God had directed men to disperse throughout the earth, to replenish and subdue it.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 119, Ellen G. White.
The people building the tower of Babel wanted to gather in one place. They did not want to go around the world. They acted contrary to God’s will because God commanded man in Genesis 1:28 to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. The people of Babel did not want to fill the world. They wanted to be in one comfort zone.
God wants you to get out of your comfort zone and to interact more with His creation. Interacting more with God’s creation shall increase your knowledge of the infinite One because different places have different things. When you go to Nairobi, Kenya, there is the Nairobi National Park. When you travel to Mombasa, Kenya or Seychelles, you will see the Indian Ocean. Once you journey to Dubai, you will view and probably encounter the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab. When you go to France, there is the Eiffel Tower. In America and Canada, there is Niagara Falls. When you travel to Israel or Palestine, you would be able to interact with many of the ancient things in the Bible.
God wants you to see all these things to understand Him better because He has hidden spiritual lessons in natural things. Jeremiah 12:5 (KJV) – “If thou hast run with the footmen and have wearied thee, how then canst thou contend with the horses?” That is a spiritual lesson represented by natural creatures (horses and men).
Isaiah 55:8-9 (KJV) – “8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Comparing His ways and thoughts to ours, God uses the distance between heaven and earth. That is a spiritual lesson using examples in the natural world.
Isaiah 55:10-11 (KJV) – “10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” God uses the rain and snow, how they do not go back to the sky but fall to the ground, and compares it to His divine Word.
The Lord wants you to travel so that you can know Him more. There are lessons you can learn in Zimbabwe that you cannot learn in Kenya. You can learn lessons in Washington, D.C., unavailable in Johannesburg, South Africa.
When you look at Isaiah 55:10, which talks about the rain and snow, some countries, especially Africa and the Middle East, never experience snow. Therefore someone from these countries may not be able to fully comprehend that verse because there is no snow in their current location. However, when they travel to countries that have winters, like North America and Europe, they will get to experience snow.
Proverbs 28:1 (KJV) – “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” This verse compares the boldness of the righteous to that of the lion. When you are from America, Australia, and Europe, you may fail to fully understand this verse because there are no lions. However, you can fathom this truth better when you travel to Africa and India, visit national parks, and view lions in their natural habitat. Someone may argue that through technology, one can see all these on TV, via the internet, and can use virtual reality for touring the world. This is true, but the real-life experience is better than the virtual experience.
Different authors wrote the Bible from various locations; one author could have written it in one geographical area. God, who created the world, needed other people to have the privilege of writing the Bible.
When you have a private business company, God wants you to focus on the international market, not the local market only. God wants you to focus on the global audience when you evangelize. Paul was always traveling from place to place. Jesus said to His disciples, “go ye therefore and teach all nations” Matthew 28:19. He would have told them to teach the Jews only, but He told them to teach all nations.
God is honored when you socialize and network with different people. He is honored when you move around and interact with His creation. Isaiah 45:18 says God created the world to be inhabited. By wanting to gather in one place and avoiding to replenish the world, the people of Babel were wasting God’s resources. This is because if they had succeeded in remaining in one place (their comfort zone), the whole world would lie at waste. Being in your comfort zone is like swimming in the pools of mediocrity while God wants you to do your best.
Proverbs 4:7 (KJV) – “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Wisdom is the application of truthful information. For one to apply truthful information, they must apply the truthful information that they possess. One cannot apply what they don’t know. Truthful Information acquired is also known as knowledge. Therefore, increasing knowledge is essential for increasing wisdom because applying what you don’t know is impossible. However, one can acquire knowledge but fail to apply it. For example, one can choose to cook a particular vegetable (application of truthful information/wisdom) because they know it is edible (knowledge).
On the other hand, one may know that, that particular vegetable is edible and good for health but choose not to eat it. These two people have the same knowledge, but how they apply is different. You cannot compare them to one who does not know. One who does not know if that vegetable is edible will not eat it (they won’t apply the information). Therefore, knowledge is required because it is through its application that you can solve your life problems. This is because the difference between you and the problem you face is knowledge.
What makes one person more successful than the other who has the same amount of knowledge is wisdom (how they choose to apply it). One person knows that the Bible says in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest,” but chooses not to go to Jesus. Another one knows the same thing and decides to go to Jesus. One person will study Software Development and choose to become a University lecturer, and there is one who will start a tech company, so their success levels will be different. But one without an idea about software will not get into the software business.
Therefore, to get wisdom, knowledge is essential. There are three ways that I know of that make one gain knowledge: traveling, socializing, and reading—the one who knows how to leverage these three ends up getting the most.
Travelling is essential because you get to learn more from a different environment. If you travel to the ghetto, you will see things, not in the affluent neighborhoods you live in. If you are from the ghetto, you see things in the leafy suburbs that are not present in your location. Therefore, moving from place to place is vital so you can learn more. You get to know more when you move from one location to another and socialize. When you combine reading, socializing, and traveling, you get to know more and better than one who does only one.
For example, one who has read the Bible and visited the mentioned places in the Bible and seen the mentioned things has better knowledge than one who has only read the Bible. If the two were to stand before people and preach and had the same measure of the Spirit, the former would probably have a more powerful message than the latter.
John the revelator wrote the great Bible book of Revelation while on the Isle of Patmos, a different location from where he was born. In His ministry, Jesus constantly traveled. Daniel wrote the Book of Daniel in the kingdom of Babylon and not from Jerusalem, where he originated. The apostle Paul, who wrote almost half of the New Testament, kept traveling from place to place and acquired inspiration from various locations. Like Jesus, the apostle Paul also read and interacted widely with people.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (KJV) – “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren.” 1 Corinthians 10:1 (KJV) – “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant.” God does not want you to be ignorant. He wants you to know and traveling is one way of acquiring knowledge.
Genesis 12:1-3 (KJV) – “1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
For God to bless Abraham, he had to leave his original location and travel to a land God would show him. It was through Abraham that God would bless all families of the world. God intended for Abraham to bless the world, not just his current location.
Hebrews 11:8 says that Abraham obeyed God and went without knowing where he was going. Joseph was sold by his brothers in the land of Egypt as a slave and ended up prospering in that foreign land. That travel made various pagan people in Egypt (including Potiphar and Pharaoh) know that there is a God in heaven who is all-powerful.
Genesis 39:3 says that Potiphar saw that God was with Joseph. Genesis 41 talks about how Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and gave solutions. Joseph was able to minister to Potiphar and Pharaoh because he traveled. One of the reasons God wants you to travel is because He wants you to minister to everyone, both believers and unbelievers. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world.” You can also read it to say, “For God so loved everybody.”
Those who have gone for missions will testify that they experienced the hand of God more powerfully than they did in their current locations. Travelling can boost spiritual growth if done to the glory of God. On his way to Damascus, Paul encountered Christ (Acts 9). In other words, he met Christ while he was traveling.
Jesus appeared to two disciples on their way to Emmaus before He appeared to the others who gathered in a room (Luke 24:15-31). The two had the privilege of encountering the risen Christ before the others while traveling. Jesus called all His twelve apostles when they were outside their houses (Mark 3:13-19). Likewise, Jesus called them when He was outside His home. Get out of your home. Get out of your comfort zone. God wants you to travel.
“Those who in response to the call of the hour have entered the service of the Master Workman, may well study His methods of labor. During His earthly ministry, the Saviour took advantage of the opportunities to be found along the great thoroughfares of travel. It was at Capernaum that Jesus dwelt at the intervals of His journeys to and fro, and it came to be known as “His own city.” This city was well adapted to be the center of the Saviour’s work. Being on the highway from Damascus to Jerusalem and Egypt, and to the Mediterranean Sea, it was a great thoroughfare of travel. People from many lands passed through the city, or tarried for rest on their journeyings to and fro. Here Jesus could meet all nations and all ranks, the rich and great, as well as the poor and lowly; and His lessons would be carried to other countries and into many households. Investigation of the prophecies would thus be excited; attention would be directed to the Saviour, and His mission would be brought before the world.” — Testimonies for the Church 9:121, Ellen G. White.
International musicians and entertainers are more commercially successful than local ones because they have sold their content and done tours worldwide. Therefore, don’t be confided in one place. Move from place to place so you can interact more with God’s creation, serve more people, and spread the good message widely. God wants you to travel.
“As I travel through this pilgrim land
There is a friend who walks with me
Leads me safely through the sinking sand
It is the Christ of Calvary” – Jesus, Hold My Hand. Song by George Jones.
The Christian journey should be a literal journey.
GOD BLESS YOU, SHALOM!
Author: Mark Alex
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