Scripture
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…4So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Genesis 12:1,4
Observation
It’s easy to go with what you know. It’s more comfortable to stay with the familiar than to set out into the unknown. This moment with Abram is so pivotal to our faith. Not just our faith in general but also in what it looks like to walk by faith and not sight. God said, “Go”, but didn’t give Abram an address. God said, “I will bless you as you go”, but didn’t tell him where he was going. Obedience is not predicated upon explanation. Abram was willing to leave everything and everyone he knew to follow God’s leading. This is what faith looks like. It’s a pioneer faith. To truly understand the power of this moment we need to look at the previous chapter. “31One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.” God was asking Abram to complete what his father had started. His father Terah was “headed for the land of Canaan”, most likely at the leading of the Lord, and yet never made it. He “settled” in Haran. Terah died never having reached his destination. God wanted his people in Canaan, the promised land, but you can’t get there unless you pioneer.
Application
This new year will require the pioneer in each of us to rise up. The landscape of our world has changed culturally, politically, financially, spiritually. The maps from years before don't work anymore. Everything has been upended by the events of 2020. If we go in to this year with the goal of “going back to normal” we will miss the new thing God is doing! We can’t go backward if we want to go forward. Like God to Abram, God is looking us in the eyes and asking us to get up and go. Walk out of what we knew and into the new that God has for you! It’s like the pivotal moment when Jesus asked Peter to “go out where is is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” (Lk. 5:4). Peter’s response is a pioneer response. He was ready to settle for no fish after a night of fruitless effort, but he moved past the years of fisherman training from his father and said, “but if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” (Lk. 5:5). Along with the record catch came a breakthrough moment! Peter left all of this behind to follow the Savior who breaks the rules, surpasses expectations and pioneers new ground to reach those who don't know Him. God is calling us to the Promised Land and we won’t get there if we stay here. God is calling us to be fishers of men and we won’t be able to reach this generation if we settle for the way we have done church before.
Prayer
Lord, I feel a stirring in my Spirit to follow You into this new year. Let my response be like Peter’s- “If you say so”. Let me response be like Abram’s- “I will go even though I don’t know where I’m going.” What worked for my father before might not work anymore. Let me follow You into the unknown! You've already been where I'm about to go!
Kommentare