When God Says Go
Sometimes you need a nudge. And sometimes you need a hand. But you might just need to take the step of obedience if you want to discover what God has planned for you. I expect that most of us have experienced times where we needed one or all of the suggestions above because it is difficult to leave your comfort zone.
We don’t know all the details concerning Abram’s call to leave his father’s house to the land God would show him. But with the information we have in Genesis 12, I imagine that we might have a lot more questions than answers as to what was in our future! Here are the basics that Abram knew according to the text:
1. He was to leave his country and his father’s house. It appears that the final destination was somewhere God knew but Abram would learn along the way.
2. God said that he would make a great nation from Abram’s bloodline and not only bless Abram but make his name great and make him a blessing.
3. God would bless those who blessed Abram and bring a curse on those who dishonored him.
4. Abram set out when he was 75 and took his wife and nephew and everything they owned with him.
5. God didn’t promise to give Abram the land until he arrived in Canaan.
We breeze through this story in Genesis 12, often without considering the massive undertaking that this journey would require. It is hard to imagine because at the tip of our fingers we can plan a trip to go nearly anywhere in the world and get there in a day or two. Our difficulty would likely be more about whether to go. Almost any trip we could imagine could be easily planned and even insured against interruptions.
The reality is that even though technology makes it easy for us to execute plans, make trips, and increase efficiencies at home and at work, we still have the same decision to make when God speaks to us through his word and by the Holy Spirit. It all comes down to faith and obedience: do we trust God to be with us on the assignments that he gives us? And are we willing to do what he nudges us to do?
I suspect it is unlikely that God will call anyone reading this to relocate to a yet unidentified place, where we then walk thousands of miles with all of our possessions in tow. But he very likely will nudge us to take steps of faith that result in our willingness to speak to a stranger, make a donation to someone or to an organization in need, or modify something in our work or home life. And when God reveals the beginning of a thing without showing us the end of the thing, will we trust and obey?
Throughout my several decades of life I have yet to experience God showing me how things will turn out when he calls me to a new place of service. Discipleship requires faith and obedience. And when we are willing to step out in faith, God always meets us. He is all sufficient for everything we need.
We are the recipients of the blessing that required Abraham to step out in faith and trust the promises of God. And we just might be the one that God uses to pass on that blessing to others.
Father, thank you for revealing the story of Abraham to us. Thank you for the blessing of life through Christ that resulted from Abraham’s faith centuries ago. Today we surrender to you and ask that you use us to bring the blessing of redemption in Christ to another, even today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Genesis 12:1-7, 13:14-18, 15:1-21 ESV
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