Another Move, God? Hope for Military WivesSýnishorn

Being an Influencer

One year, we temporarily landed in two different states for training before moving on to my husband’s next assignment. Two years later, the military forced us to move again with another training en route. So, in three years, we lived temporarily in six locations! Although we weren’t moving around on camels or donkeys, I can relate to Sarah’s transient lifestyle. Do you often wonder if moving is your hobby?

At the beginning of Sarah and Abraham’s journey, we see the first stops in their nomadic and unsettled lifestyle. God chose to take Abraham and Sarah from one part of the ancient world to another. God chose them to be the special ones to take God’s revelation of himself to the world, perhaps even because they were traveling from place to place with a potential for impacting the most people – especially since Canaan was along the most traveled trade route of the ancient world. At this time in history, most ancient cultures worshiped local deities. When they moved to a new location, people often left that deity behind and worshiped the new god in the new place. God called Sarah and Abraham to leave behind the false god they had previously worshiped, but he also called them to continue revering him as they moved around.

Sarah and Abraham took servants with them on their journey who would have watched them worship differently than all the cultures around them. In Genesis 12:7, we see that the first thing Abraham and Sarah did upon arriving in Canaan was to present an offering to the Lord. God didn’t require this, but Abraham was compelled to offer praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for bringing them to this fertile, lush land. Those who saw Sarah and Abraham worship may have asked questions about their exclusive God. We have evidence in Genesis 24:12-14 that at least one of Abraham’s servants worshiped and prayed to God.

Since the ancient culture worshiped pagan gods distinct to each location, moving to follow a deity would have been revolutionary for Sarah and Abraham. Following a god from one place to another was highly unusual since their gods were bound by location. Because continuing to worship a deity from one location to another was so different from the pagan religions of their time, Sarah likely would have understood how profound their decision was. It’s possible that Sarah saw the importance of her role as the mother of a new nation who would worship one singular God and eventually reveal him to the world.

Military families can be a powerful mechanism to reach the world with the message of Christ—not by the strength of the armed forces, but by the power of the gospel (Rom 1:16)!

In each location, no matter how long or short you live there, choose to take a bold stance for Christ and influence those around you. You are called to this transient lifestyle and the opportunity to influence more people with the hope of Christ.