You ask for safe travels on a long drive, and you do well to commit your journey to the Lord. But while you pray for protection on the road, remember that every day we travel a far more perilous road, the narrow way that leads to life. On this path, there are precipices on either side, and if you slumber but a little while, you are swept away quickly. So travel with confidence and fear: confidence because Jesus is your guide, fear because of the dangers that lurk unseen.
The devil sets snares not only on distant highways but in the heart of the traveler. Unseasonable anger, careless words, luxurious ease, these can overtake you even in a carriage. No long journey is needed to seek the Lord, nor any money spent; it is enough to have a ready will and a bridle on the tongue. Cast off the desire for comfort and the distraction of idle thoughts. Make the day’s drive a time of sober watchfulness, not of spiritual slumber.
Consider the Apostles, how actively employed even their journeys were; they did nothing without a purpose. When you travel, let your soul travel too, toward God. Remember His past mercies: how often you have fallen into dangers and would have perished unless He held His hand over you. Recount these things and return thanks day by day. A heart that remembers deliverance is a heart that travels safely, for it stays near the One who delivers.
Do not think that reaching your destination in the flesh is all. We must have a virtue that lasts to the very end, not flagging near the close. The one who requires many things for the journey, soft beds, ease, constant rest, is weaker than the one who can live on little. Learn to need nothing but God’s provision and a thankful spirit. In this, you travel light and travel well.
Above all, let your love abound in knowledge and discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent and be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ. I long for you with the tender mercies of Christ, and I pray that your journeys, every one, may be filled with the fruits of righteousness, to the glory and praise of God. So go, then, with His hand over you, wakeful and sober. The Lord will guide your steps and bring you to your earthly home; may He also guide your soul unceasingly toward the heavenly city.