Watch the Devotion

Based on Genesis 12:1-8

How many times have you moved in your lifetime? For military personnel, the number can get pretty high. And let’s be honest—moving is hard. Household goods get broken or delayed. You might arrive not knowing a single person. There’s no guarantee you’ll make friends quickly or that you won’t feel lonely. PCS orders may send you somewhere new and much of it feels uncertain.

In Genesis 12, the LORD gave Abram orders that sounded a lot like PCS orders: “Go…to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Except Abram had no map. No intel brief. No sponsor waiting at the gaining unit. Abram was 75 years old. He and his wife had no children. And yet, the LORD attached promises: “I will bless you… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3). And Abram went—over a thousand miles on foot—not because he had guarantees, but because the LORD had spoken.

Abram moved under promise.

You do, too. In your vocation, God calls you to go—to new duty stations, new homes, new communities. But he sends you with promises. He promises to be with you. He promises daily bread. He promises forgiveness when you fall into sin. He promises that in Christ, you are declared righteous before him—not because of your strength, but because of Jesus’ perfect life and innocent death for you.

At times, PCS moves strain you emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You may wonder if God sees you in the transition. But his promises don’t change with your zip code. The same God who called Abram calls you by his Word. The same God who kept his promise—bringing Isaac, then Jacob, then King David, and finally Jesus into the world—has kept his promise to save you. In Christ, you will not perish but have eternal life.

And that’s the final PCS, isn’t it? Not to another duty station or another town, but to the place Christ has prepared for you. A permanent home where there are no more goodbyes, no loneliness, no uncertainty. Until then, wherever the military sends you, you live under God’s unchanging promise.

You are PCSing—with a promise.

Prayer:

Lord God, you called Abram to go with nothing but your promise, and you proved yourself faithful. As military members move through the many changes of military life, remind them that your promises in Christ never fail. Especially watch over those deployed and their families. There is a lot of uncertainly right now, Lord. Do as you’ve promised: be with us, provide for us, forgive us, and keep our eyes fixed on our eternal home with you. Amen.

Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California.

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