Have you ever made a big move? Maybe you moved across the country for college or to pursue a dream job. Maybe you were forced to move as a child because your parents decided to move. Those who have experienced moving know that moving involves taking a step of faith and courage. Moving is certainly not easy, but technology today certainly makes it easier because we can keep up with loved ones as well as use technology to learn about the place we are moving to. Abraham certainly did not have any of the technological benefits that we have today when God called him to leave his country for a brand-new place that God would reveal to Him.
God commanded Abraham, then called Abram, to leave his home in Genesis 12. God said to Him, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you" (verse 1). This was no simple command. God was calling Abraham to leave everything behind. God followed this command with a promise. He said, "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. In an extraordinary step of faith, Abraham obeyed. After receiving that command from God to leave his home, Scripture teaches us that he "departed as the Lord had instructed" (verse 4). Abraham received God's command and left everything to follow God's command. What faith he displayed in this moment!
Hebrews 11 elaborates on Abraham's moment when he obeyed God and left his home. The writer of Hebrews says in this passage of Scripture, "It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called Him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going" (verse 8). Abraham obeyed because of his faith. He trusted God and His plan and believed God would keep His promise to him that he would bless him and make him "into a great nation." Because Abraham obeyed God, God did exactly what He promised. God did, indeed, make Abraham into a great nation, and the whole world was blessed through him because Jesus was part of his family tree.
Imagine what would have happened if Abraham did not obey God. He would have missed out on God's blessing. God would have used someone else to be a part of Jesus' family tree. Because of Abraham's obedience, Abraham was able to be a big part of God's story. Imagine what is at stake if we do not faithfully obey God. What might we miss out on if we say "no?" May we be people who faithfully obey God, trusting Him and His promises.
One of the reasons we can have faith is because of God’s past faithfulness in our lives. When we see how He has cared for us in the past, we can have faith to trust Him with the future. Take time to make a list of all of the ways God has been faithful in the past. When you are done, thank Him for all of the ways He has been faithful to you. Ask Him to help you to take steps to trust Him and faithfully obey Him in the future.
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. 9 Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
