“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” – Psalm 121:8 (ESV)
Rather unsurprisingly, I’ve been thinking a fair bit about journeys recently. Whether it’s a holiday, a mission trip, or a relocation, travel has a way of slowing us down and making us reflect. Ruth, she’s the planner, I’m more “figure it out as as you go” but either way, we both need to take time to reflect.
The act of packing bags, boarding flights, watching landscapes change, and crossing oceans can stir up something spiritual within us. As we recently made the journey from Canada to the UK, I found myself thinking more deeply than usual about what Scripture has to say about travel and transitions—and how God meets us in the in-between.
After all, the Bible is a story full of journeys.
Abraham left his homeland without knowing where he was going, only trusting the promise of God (Genesis 12:1–4). The Israelites wandered for forty years in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan. Ruth left Moab for Bethlehem in a single act of loyal faith. Jesus himself walked from village to village, never seeming to settle—always moving, always travelling, always teaching along the way.
So much of what God does in us and through us doesn’t happen at the destination, but on the way.
God is with us in our “going out”
Psalm 121 is often read as a psalm of protection, especially for travelers. It’s part of the “Songs of Ascent,” likely sung by pilgrims journeying up to Jerusalem. These were long and sometimes dangerous walks—through valleys, over hills, across borders. And yet, the psalmist proclaims, “The Lord will keep your going out…”
That’s a comfort for anyone boarding a plane or setting out on a journey. Behind the logistics and checklists and travel stress, there is a deeper truth: the same God who called Abraham to go is still sending and guiding His people today.
When we first led the UK for Canada, we carried more than suitcases—we carried expectations, questions, maybe even anxieties. Coming back for this vacation included a different set of uncertainties about what had changed in the intervening 5 years. Yet in both cases, we also carried the quiet assurance that the Lord goes with us. Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He is not bound by borders, time zones, or geography. The presence that comforts you at home is the same presence that surrounds you 35,000 feet in the air or in an unfamiliar guest room abroad.
God does not just bless the arrival—He blesses the going out.
God shapes us in the in-between
There’s a reason why the Bible so often places its characters on journeys. Journeys form us. In the space between what was and what will be, God works on our hearts.
The Israelites learned to depend on daily manna in the wilderness. Jonah had to face the limits of his own prejudice while crossing the sea. The disciples were transformed from fearful followers into bold proclaimers during their travels with Jesus.
Travel breaks our routines. It opens us to new experiences. It forces us to release control. These are precisely the conditions under which spiritual growth can flourish—if we let it.
What is God teaching you in your season of transition or travel? It may not be an overseas trip. It might be a new job, a change in family life, or just the next chapter of your faith. Whatever your “in-between” looks like, God is not waiting at the next stop—He is walking with you, even now.
God secures our “coming in”
The final line of Psalm 121 is a promise for the future: “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” It’s a full-circle promise. Not only does He send us with blessing, He welcomes us back with grace.
For some, “coming in” means returning to familiar faces and places. For others, it means arriving in an entirely new land with new rhythms and routines. But wherever we land, God is already there.
And in the deepest sense, all of life is a journey leading us toward a greater home—not a place on the map, but the presence of God. Hebrews 11 speaks of saints who “acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (v.13). Why? Because “they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (v.16).
Every plane we catch, every road we travel, every move we make in obedience to Christ—these are echoes of the greater journey we are all on: moving from the brokenness of this world toward the restoration of all things.
Final Thoughts
This summer, many of us will travel, we will have journeys and experiences. But whether you’re boarding a flight, driving across country, visiting new places, or familiar old haunts, beginning a new phase of life, or just walking the long road of obedience, remember this:
You do not journey alone. The God who sends you also walks beside you. And the one who keeps your going out will also bless your coming in.
Let each mile, each moment, and each movement remind you: the Lord is your keeper, now and forevermore.
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” – Psalm 37:5
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