My youngest granddaughter hasn’t reached her second birthday yet, but she’s quick on her feet, zooming around so fast I can barely keep up with her. And she keeps adding new words to her vocabulary. I brag that she’s bilingual because she says agua, the Spanish word for water. She’s fond of short words. One of her favorites is “no,” which she says clearly in both English and Spanish.

Two-letter words can communicate a lot. “Oh” expresses surprise or delight. “Is” defines reality. “If” lays down conditions. “At” or “in” specify our location. “Do” denotes action. “Up” lifts our vision. “My” shows possession, and two-letter words like “me,” “be,” “am,” “we,” and “us” identify who we are. 

Here’s a two-letter word that has life-changing power, especially when it comes from the lips of the Lord himself: “Go!” 

God challenged Abram’s faith by telling him, “Go from your country, your people and 

your father’s household to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). How would you react if God gave you those same instructions? Leave your country? Why leave the blessings you enjoy at home? Leave your people? Why would you say goodbye to your family and friends and move away from things that are familiar and safe? 

There’s a close relationship, though, between “going” and “growing.” If water stands still in cold weather, it freezes. It’s the same with our spiritual lives. We usually don’t grow by standing still. We have to keep moving. Someone has said, “To step toward your destiny, you might have to step away from your security.” To go somewhere else, you have to leave where you are, and that often requires leaving behind things that are comfortable, predictable, and easy. If you feel restless inside, it may be a sign that you need to grow and tackle a new adventure.

Where Is the Lord Asking You to Go?
Jesus often instructed his disciples to “go.”

Go and be reconciled. According to Jesus, if you need to make peace with others, before you offer your gift at the altar, “First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:24). 

Go the extra mile. “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles” (v. 41). Do the extra thing, go the extra distance, do what stretches your faith and demonstrates God’s grace. 

Go and tell your story. After Jesus healed a man who had been afflicted by demons, 

the grateful fellow begged to travel with Jesus. But the Lord told him, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).

Go and serve. Remember how Jesus concluded his story about the Good Samaritan?

“Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). As he did with Abram, God might be asking you to leave your homeland and serve him in a faraway place, or maybe he’s simply prompting you to go somewhere close by. Is there a sick friend you need to visit? Has the Holy Spirit been nudging you to knock on your neighbor’s door and make a new friend? Is God calling you to exchange security for sacrifice? Don’t play it safe. Put the two-letter word into action. Just go. 

David Faust serves as the Associate Minister at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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