Day 17

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you… 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12:1, 4

No one enjoys being lost. In life, most of us desire to know where we are going and how to get there. Whether it is the direction of a career, relationship, or education, we almost never want to move without knowing the entire plan. But look at Abram’s story. God commanded him to pack up his life and move from his home of seventy-five years, not telling him where to go or how he was to get there. God simply told Abram to leave his country and follow where God led him. If God called me to this, I would have a lot of questions for God. I would probably think long and hard about whether it was a good idea for me to leave my home. I would like to know where I was going, how long it would take, and why I was leaving. If I didn’t, I might become doubtful and afraid. But not Abram. He simply obeyed. Abram had confidence in who God was and had faith in who was guiding his life, even though he did not know the purpose or destination of his obedience.

While not all of us are told to leave our homeland without knowing where we are going, God still calls us to situations where we do not understand why or where He is leading us. God does not always give us a clear picture of what He is doing when He asks us to obey Him. It is easy to become doubtful and afraid, when our obedience to God relies on our understanding of what God is doing, rather than trust in who our God is. But we cannot allow our doubts and uncertainty to limit our obedience. Our God is good, faithful, and He holds all things from the beginning of the world and when we remember this, we can rest assured in the goodness of His plan. Because of the character of our God, we do not need to have it all figured out or even slightly understand what God is doing in our lives; we simply need to walk where He leads when He reveals it. When we trust God we can obey Him, even if we do not know the destination, because we know who is leading our life.

Reflection: What is something that God is calling you to do that you’ve ignored because of uncertainty about where your obedience will lead?