The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12:1‭-‬4 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/gen.12.1-4.NIVUK

It’s estimated that one person in every twenty alive today is descended directly or indirectly from Abram, so this promise has certainly come to pass. But I’m struck by the word ‘Go’, upon which it is made contingent. ‘Go from your country’, says God, and I will bless you. ‘Go’, even though you are seventy-five years old. ‘Go’, and I will make you a great nation. Abram stepped into God’s plan for his life, and unlocked God’s purposes for human history, by simply being willing to strike out into the unknown, without any security except the promise God had given him. This is the heart of pilgrimage: a journey into the unknown with God, in search of God.