Stranger in a Strange Land

Making a Move of Faith

Have you ever felt completely out of place? Maybe you’ve relocated your family, started a difficult new job, or answered a spiritual calling that pulled you far away from everything familiar. That feeling of disorientation—of searching for comfort in a landscape that offers none—is exactly what the Bible describes when it speaks of faith.

It’s the feeling of being a "stranger in a strange land."

When God Calls You to Disorientation

The phrase "stranger in a strange land" first appears in Exodus 2:22, spoken by Moses after he fled Egypt and settled in Midian. He was a prince, then a fugitive, now a shepherd—a man who belonged nowhere. But before Moses, there was Abraham, the ultimate stranger. In Genesis 12, God calls him with a terrifyingly vague command: "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you."

Notice the crucial detail: God didn't name the destination. He only named the starting point and the direction: away.

This is often where our greatest trials begin. When God calls us to make a move of faith—whether it’s a physical relocation, leaving a toxic environment, or starting a new ministry—it forces us into disorientation. It’s a divine test designed not to harm us, but to prove whether our foundation is in our comfort or in Christ.

Making a Move of Faith

A move of faith is often defined by what you don’t know. You don't know who will support you. You don't know how the finances will work out. The anxiety is real, especially when the move involves leaving behind a deeply dysfunctional or painful past.

This is where the prompts of the Spirit become your only compass.

It means making the uneasy phone calls, facing the logistics, and taking the physical step, even when your soul is trembling. Think of the modern pilgrim who, following a quiet but persistent spiritual nudge, packed up their life and took a 17-hour train ride across the country. No guarantees, just the commitment to turn their back on what was broken and move toward the renewal God was promising.

Faith isn't the absence of fear; it's the refusal to be paralyzed by it. It means you pack your bags, turn your back on your own self-sufficiency, and step out simply because you heard the Voice. Every step into the strange land is an opportunity to prove the one truth that truly matters: God’s faithfulness is bigger than your uncertainty.

The Trial That Digs Deeply into Your Soul

The hardest part about being a stranger is the trial that digs deeply into your soul. This kind of trial strips away the secondary layers of your life—the accolades, the relationships, the familiarity—until all that's left is you and God.

When your circumstances are chaotic, God is using that strange land as a workshop for your spirit. It’s in the desert of Midian that Moses finally learned true humility. It’s wandering in Canaan that Abraham learned patience. These trials are designed to:

1. Expose Hidden Idols: We realize how much we relied on our job, our social status, or even our family structures for security, rather than on the Living God.

2. Deepen Prayer: When nothing else works, we learn to pray with a desperate, raw dependence that brings us closer to His heart than any sermon ever could.

3. Redefine Home: We realize that our true home is not a place on Earth, but a position in Christ (Hebrews 11:13-16).

If you are currently struggling in your "strange land," take heart. This disorientation is not abandonment. It is the proving ground where God is digging deep into your soul, replacing anxiety with His peace, and trading your old, comfortable foundation for an eternal one. He transforms the "strange land" into the sacred space where you become closer to Him and more secure in your faith than you ever thought possible.