“Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name grate; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abraham was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”-Genesis 12:1-4
As I read this passage, I thought to myself; what if Abram had not gone when God told him to go. How different would our Bibles look if those people God called to go simply stayed where they were? What I’ve found from carefully mediating on this passage is that the biggest problem with going is leaving.
The first thing that God told Abram was to get out of his country, away from his family, and away from the comforts of his father’s house. God didn’t begin by showing Abram where he was going or what type of blessings awaited him when he reached his destination. Instead, He began by showing Abram what he must leave behind. It isn’t that God’s blessings don’t appeal to us; it is leaving what we have become so comfortable with that holds us back.
Go is a command to action. You cannot follow God and stay in your comfort zone. Is it risky to follow God? I guess it depends on how much you trust God when He says, “I will.” He told Abram, If you get out of your land, I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. If we believe, without a shadow of a doubt that God will honor His Word, then it isn’t risky at all. However, because He often does not give us all the information at once, we cannot know exactly when or how God will make it happen. This lack of information and control cause many to see the risk of going as too great.
“So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”-Genesis 12:4
Abram made a bold decision to heed the voice of the Lord and to go.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.-Hebrews 11:8-10
Hebrews 11:8-10 teaches us that going after God requires tremendous faith and in addition requires some things from us:
Going always requires obedience to God’s Word.
Going always includes an element of not knowing. That’s faith!
Going always requires us to stay focused on the big picture; especially when we do not see the plan of God unfolding in our immediate future.
Remember, the only thing that Abram would own in Caanan upon his death, was a tomb. Why? He had his eye on a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10).
Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church
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