1 Tower That Was Never Built
Life is full of twists and turns, and sometimes it can be hard to know which path one should take. As professionals, we’re faced with many choices every day, and it’s easy to get caught up in the illusion that we can be independent. But as we reflect on the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-8, we are reminded that true success does not come from accolades and achievements but from following God’s guidance.
The Eastward Journey: From Adam and Eve to Cain, the eastward journey seems to have become a recurrent theme in the grand narrative of the Bible. A travel eastward represents a step, a choice, and a path away from God. When the people at Babel decided to move east, they declared their independence from God. It’s like saying, “Let us do this on our terms, apart from God.”
The collective “Let us…” echoes this illusion of independence which was a manifestation of our desire to shape our destiny apart from God. But God is faithful. He saw beyond the surface of their ambitious tower. When He halted their construction, it was an intervention, preventing them from going further away from Him. A pause, a redirection – an act of grace!
So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
Genesis 11:1–8
It was a graceful realignment: God’s dispersion of the people was a reminder; a realignment. In the scattering, God was nudging them back toward His original purpose, and that is, for humanity to take dominion over creation and multiply. The very tasks they aimed to accomplish for selfish reasons by building the tower were now achievable through dispersion, each group having the opportunity to make God known.
As professionals, we face many challenges and obstacles on our journey of knowing God. Here are two key illustrations that can help us navigate these challenges:
- Ambitions: Just like the people at Babel had ambitious goals, we often set career aspirations. God’s grace redirects our path, reminding us that our journey can be aligned with His purpose. We can trust that God has a plan for our lives, and that He will guide us as we seek to make him known.
- Challenges: The dispersion parallels the challenges we face. But God’s grace equips us to overcome obstacles, demonstrating that His plan surpasses our understanding. We can trust that God is always with us, even when we face difficult times.
As we navigate our modern Babels, where our ambitions and challenges collide, let’s remember the tower that was never built is also a testament to God’s amazing grace, always at work in our lives. In our journey of knowing God, may we embrace the unmerited, transformative, and sufficient grace that continually guides us.
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