Life Between the Plot Points

It can be easy to read the historical narratives of the Bible and forget that the people whose lives are so eventful on the printed page did in fact live one day at a time, just like you and me.

I have been working through the book of Genesis in the evenings this year, and was struck the other day by a simple verse tucked in between two momentous happenings in the life of Jacob.

“Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.” Genesis 29:1

I must admit that I tend to skim over verses like this, which serve a legitimate purpose in moving the narrative along, giving a sense of the passing of time between the Divinely-recorded plot points.

But think about Jacob’s life during the time this verse spans. Was it weeks? Months? There is no mention of servants or an entourage at any stage of the journey, so it is likely he was traveling alone, perhaps on foot, though I suspect Isaac and Rebekah would not have sent him off on foot.

What did he see as he traveled? What landmarks would he have spotted that corresponded with stories of Abraham’s journeys, or Rebekah’s trip from Haran to Canaan? Did he look up at the stars at night, and did they seem more vast than they had at home?

I imagine there would have been a sense of weariness after the newness of the adventure wore off, and his joy at arriving at Haran and meeting his mother’s people may have been heightened by the fact that his journey had come to an end at last.

This is all conjecture, but the point is that Jacob had to make that journey day by day, step by step. He couldn’t skim past to the next big event in life—and neither can we. Just like Jacob, we must live each day, even when it seems uneventful and insignificant. For the Christian each day is significant, even if there is no next big plot point in view, because each day moves us closer to the joys of eternity with God in heaven.

Dear Reader, are you in a plodding season today? Does it seem like you are stuck in the day-to-day between life events, trudging through a wilderness that seems to have no end in sight? Remember that every journey has its eventual end. You can rejoice in the fact that your journey ultimately ends in the presence of the Lord, and that He has promised to be with you each and every step of the way.

“For the which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 

2 Corinthians 4:16