Following A Known God To An Unknown Place
There was a time when maps simply stopped.
Early mapmakers could chart the coastlines they had seen, identify the lands people had explored, and record the places they knew existed. But eventually, they reached the edge of their knowledge. Beyond that point there were no roads marked out, no boundaries carefully drawn, and no familiar landmarks.
There was simply blank space.
Uncharted territory.
For some, that blank space was probably enough reason to turn around. If no one knew what was out there, why risk going any farther?
For others, that was exactly where the journey began.
Sometimes, following Jesus feels a lot like reaching the edge of one of those ancient maps.
You have followed the road as far as you know how. You have taken the steps that seemed clear. But suddenly you find yourself staring at a horizon without familiar pathways or recognizable landmarks.
And you realize: I don't know where I'm going from here.
Going Without Knowing
Hebrews 11:8 tells us:
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
That last phrase is remarkable.
He went out, not knowing where he was going.
Abraham knew who had called him, but he didn't know where that call would ultimately take him.
That is an important distinction because we often assume that following God should make everything clearer. We want God to reveal the destination, explain the route, show us every turn, and then ask us to start walking.
But that isn't always how God leads.
There are seasons when you may know exactly what God is asking you to do without knowing exactly where obedience will take you.
You know the One you're following.
You just don't know the place you're going.
When Following Jesus Feels Like Being Lost
There is a kind of “lost” that doesn't mean you are separated from God. It simply means you don't recognize where you are.
You haven't been here before.
The surroundings aren't familiar. The next step isn't obvious. The life you imagined isn't unfolding quite the way you expected.
Many Christians experience seasons like this.
When you first come to Christ, everything can seem incredibly clear. There is new life, new hope, and a new sense of direction. You have been found.
But eventually, the road can become less obvious.
That doesn't necessarily mean something has gone wrong.
It may mean you're following Jesus somewhere you've never been before.
The Christian life was never intended to be a stationary life. God saves us and begins moving us.
Colossians 1:13 says that God:
“has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
Salvation relocates us.
God brings us out of darkness and into His Kingdom. But His work in us doesn't end with that first moment of salvation. He continues leading, shaping, teaching, and transforming us throughout our lives.
And that means there will inevitably be places along the journey that are new to us.
We Want a Map. God Gives Us a Guide.
If God already knows the destination, why doesn't He simply show us the entire route?
Why not give us the map?
Because if we're truthful, most of us would probably prefer a map to a guide.
Give me the directions. Show me where I'm going. Tell me where to turn. Let me know how long it will take.
Once I have the map, I can manage the journey.
But God is interested in something deeper than simply getting us from one location to another.
He wants us to learn to follow Him.
We want to know where we're going. God is more concerned that we know who we're following.
A map gives you information.
A guide requires relationship.
And Jesus did not come merely to hand us instructions for navigating life. He said:
“Follow Me.”
Those two words contain movement.
Jesus meets us exactly where we are, but He has no intention of leaving us there. Grace brings Jesus into our brokenness, confusion, sin, fear, and uncertainty. But then Jesus calls us to get up and follow Him out.
He loves us enough to come to where we are, and He loves us too much to leave us there.
Stay Yoked to Jesus
Jesus gives us a beautiful picture of this relationship in Matthew 11:28–29:
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…”
We often focus on the invitation to rest, and rightly so.
But Jesus doesn't stop there.
He says, “Take My yoke upon you.”
A yoke joined two animals together so they moved in the same direction, at the same pace, carrying the same load. An inexperienced animal could be joined to an experienced one and learn how to walk the road.
That changes the picture of following Jesus.
Christianity isn't simply receiving instructions from Jesus and then heading off to complete the assignment ourselves.
It is being joined to Him.
Walking where He walks.
Moving when He moves.
Learning His pace.
Following His direction.
Sometimes our frustration comes because we're trying to pull one direction while Jesus is leading another.
We want to know the road.
Jesus says, Stay with Me.
We want control over the destination.
Jesus says, Learn from Me.
We want the map.
Jesus offers Himself.
The rest Jesus gives is not necessarily rest from every responsibility, challenge, or difficult season. It is rest within the journey because we are no longer carrying it alone.
His invitation brings us to rest.
His yoke brings us into relationship.
And that relationship becomes the road we walk.
Trust Has to Be Used
There comes a point when what we say we believe must actually be lived.
Trust is just a word until there's a demand placed upon it.
It's one thing to understand faith in theory.
It's another thing to follow God when you cannot see where He's taking you.
We seldom discover the strength of our faith until life requires us to use it.
Abraham could have said that he trusted God for years. But eventually God said, “Go.”
And Abraham had to move.
His faith took him somewhere.
That is one of the important realities of biblical faith: faith moves.
Abraham left what he knew and followed God toward what he didn't know.
Joseph experienced something similar.
His journey took him from his father's house to a pit, from the pit into slavery, from slavery into Potiphar's house, from Potiphar's house into prison, and eventually from prison into Pharaoh's palace.
At many points along the way, Joseph could not have understood where the road was leading.
But God did.
Scripture repeatedly reminds us that the Lord was with Joseph.
Joseph didn't know where he was going.
God did.
David experienced it too. God moved him from tending sheep to eventually sitting on the throne of Israel. But the path between the sheepfold and the throne was anything but simple.
The destination was known to God long before it was known to David.
Sometimes the Road Separates
Following Jesus can also mean discovering that not everyone or everything familiar will travel the entire road with you.
There may be people who walk beside you for a season and then your paths diverge.
There may be places that once felt like home that God asks you to leave.
There may be ways of doing things that once felt secure that God asks you to surrender.
There may be seasons where following Him requires stepping beyond what you can comfortably manage or control.
That can hurt.
It can feel confusing.
It can even feel like you're losing something.
But familiarity is not always evidence that you're where God wants you to remain.
Sometimes following Jesus means leaving the familiar precisely because He is leading you somewhere you have never been before.
You May Feel Lost. God Isn't.
Perhaps that's where you are today.
You know Jesus.
You trust Him.
You're trying to follow Him.
But if someone asked exactly where your life is headed, your answer might simply be:
I don't know.
That's okay.
Abraham didn't know either.
The road and destination may be unknown to you, but neither is unknown to God.
He knows exactly where He is leading you.
So don't let an unfamiliar road convince you that you have an unfaithful Guide.
Don't abandon the journey simply because you've reached the edge of your map.
Stay yoked to Jesus.
Keep walking.
Keep listening.
Keep trusting.
There may come a day when you look around at a place that once felt completely unknown and realize:
I'm not lost. God brought me here.
Abraham went out not knowing where he was going.
But God knew.
Joseph didn't know where the pit, the prison, and all those years of waiting would eventually lead.
But God knew.
David didn't know every road between the sheepfold and the throne.
But God knew.
And whatever uncharted territory lies in front of you, the same thing remains true.
You may not know where you're going, but you can know the God you're following.
And He is never lost.