"Are We There Yet?"

This just might be one of the most common questions of all time; no doubt you've both asked and answered it many times...
Unfortunately the very fact that the question is being asked means the answer is "No" and then there's the subsequent complaining from the back seat...

Are we there yet?

I wonder if the author of said sentiment was Abraham. He was the ultimate person on a journey not knowing if he'd yet arrived at his destination. In Genesis 12 God says to Abraham "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.". So he does. Abraham packs up his family, his livestock, his tents, and all his wealth and hits the road. He leaves from Haran and finally arrived in Canaan and stops near Shechem. A quick check of the map in the back of my Bible tells me that's around 400 miles. I don't know how quickly they traveled but I do know that the wagon trains heading West in the pioneer days averaged about ten miles a day...

Imagine how it would feel to have all your worldly possessions in the back of a U-Haul and you're driving cross country and every day your family asks, "Are we there yet?" And you don't know, because you don't know where "there" is and so how in the world would you know how long it will take to get "there"?

Abraham however is not the only pioneer.
In numerous areas of our own lives we are on a journey.
From grief to healing.
From addiction to independence.
From distraction to single mindedness.
From injury to health.
From temptation to victory.
From being conformed to this world to being transformed into His image.

And the question echoes in the chambers of our hearts "Am I there yet?"
"How long until I no longer suffer and struggle? When will I arrive?
When will I go a day without grieving, or sinning, or failing?
Will I ever scale this mountain?
When will things get better? When will I be better?
When will I be all I was created to be?
Are we there yet?"

There are some journeys in your life that have been completed. There are mountains that have been scaled, strongholds torn down, and healing that has taken place. But since we're always on a journey, of one sort or another, the question will remain.

Although we're not sure where "there" is we do know these things;

"I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow." Isaiah 48:17

"The Lord says, ' I will guide you along the best pathway for your life I will advise and watch over you.'" Psalms 32:8

"He guides me along right paths bringing honor to His name." Psalm 23:3

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." Philippians 1:6

We do not journey alone for we travel with the One who has the map, knows the destination and will make sure we arrive, even though we are not there yet.