One For The Road

Introduction – When the Trip Feels Too Far

Have you ever started on a trip and realized part way through that you just didn’t plan for how long or how hard it would be?

Maybe you packed light for a hike and then found the trail twice as steep as the guidebook said.

Maybe you took a family vacation and halfway across the desert the kids were restless, the cooler was warm, and you started wondering why you didn’t just stay home.

Life with God can feel like that.

He calls us to obedience, generosity, faithfulness—but sometimes the distance between where we are and where He calls us feels long.

We wonder, How do I carry the weight of what God is asking?

Maybe you’ve felt that about Sabbath-keeping when schedules press in, or about tithing when finances are tight, or about a habit you know needs to change.

The good news is that our God meets us where we are—but He never leaves us there.

And hidden in a little-noticed corner of the Old Testament is a beautiful picture of that truth.

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1. An Overlooked Passage

Let’s open to Deuteronomy 14:24–26.

Moses is giving instructions for Israel’s tithes and offerings.

Usually, the people were to bring their produce—their grain, oil, wine, firstborn animals—to the sanctuary as worship.

But then comes a remarkable clause:

> “If the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe… then you shall exchange it for money. Take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. Spend the money for whatever your heart desires—oxen or sheep, wine or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household.”

Did you catch that?

If the road was too long or the burden too heavy, God didn’t say, Too bad, you’re out of luck.

He said, Convert it to silver, carry that instead, and when you arrive use it for the feast of worship. I still want you to rejoice before Me.

Most people have never noticed this text.

It’s like a hidden gem in Scripture: God building mercy into His command.

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2. What This Shows Us About God

a. God is practical and compassionate

He knows geography.

He knows distance.

He knows that an ox tied to a wagon might not make a hundred-mile trip.

Rather than demanding the impossible, He provides a way.

Think about what that says about His heart.

The God who thundered from Sinai is also the God who thinks about broken wagon wheels and tired children.

He cares about the long road you walk to church, the overtime you work, the bills on your table.

Obedience is never meant to crush; it’s meant to free and to bring joy.

b. God’s goal is joy-filled worship

Notice the climax of the verse:

> “You shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household.”

The point wasn’t to make sure grain arrived in perfect condition.

The point was celebration in His presence.

God’s commands are never bare rules; they are pathways to joy.

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3. Accommodation Is Not Compromise

Here is where we must be careful.

Some read this and think, See, God just flexes with culture. Maybe anything goes if it feels right.

But that is not the message.

Scripture gives other examples where God accommodated human weakness while still pointing to His ideal:

Divorce – Jesus said, “Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of your hearts, but from the beginning it was not so” (Matt 19:8).

Slavery – The law set limits to protect life and dignity, but the gospel planted the seed of freedom (Philemon, Gal 3:28).

Polygamy – Regulated in the law, yet creation shows one man and one woman.

In every case God meets people amid their reality to move them toward wholeness, not to lower the standard of holiness.

This is different from what we see in today’s culture.

Our society often relabels sin as virtue—whether in pornography, sexual ethics, or greed—and calls it progress.

But the Bible’s accommodations were never like that.

They were bridges to transformation, not excuses to stay as we are.

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4. What This Means for Personal Discipleship

Let’s bring it closer.

Maybe the journey feels too long in your finances.

You want to honor God in tithing and generosity, but debt and inflation are heavy.

God sees the road you travel. He isn’t looking for perfection first—He’s inviting you to trust Him step by step.

Start with the next faithful act. He meets you there.

Maybe the journey feels too long in a habit or character struggle.

Anger that keeps flaring.

A secret addiction.