Mark Sorensen The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; (Gene. 12:1-4a)
I have been revisiting this passage often lately. I love this calling of Abram. What sets it apart from so many of the other callings you find in scripture is that, unlike Moses who had the burning bush and the message to, “Go set my people free”, unlike Jonah who was told specifically to go to Ninevah, unlike Joshua who was told to march around the walls of Jericho, God simply guides and instructs Abram to “Go”. That’s it. There’s no road map given to him. No detailed, step by step, Google Maps ready, printed out sheet of instructions. Just a simple, “Go”.
Maybe you’ve had the same calling in your life. You feel God sending you into a land that’s terrifying. Ever just want, as Paul Harvey would say, “The rest of the story”? Let’s be honest. I would love a burning bush and a set of “play by play” instructions from God detailing the “what’s coming up over the next five to ten years of your life”. But, maybe, just maybe, the beauty is found in the mystery.
There’s something huge in Abram’s calling that gives me comfort in stepping into those large areas of faith where I feel God leading. When you look at God’s instructions to Abram, He says, “Go to the land I will show you”. The actual translation that’s closer to the original writing says something more like this: “Go to the place that I will cause you to see“. And Abram obeys. Was it blind faith that Abram was stepping into? Not so much. Abram knew he was a child of God. And if God was calling him in his life to move, AND, even greater, if God said that He would make it obvious the path of his future, that was enough. The future would be guided by God. Abram just had to be obedient to the calling and fully present to God’s guiding in his life.
And here is where I find myself today. God still speaks. God still calls. God still asks for our obedience. All we have to do, is be fully present and willing to step when He calls. It’s that scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I love it. Indy’s father has been shot and he is sent to retrieve the chalice Christ used at the Last Supper to heal his dad. Standing between the chalice and the death of his father? A chasm that’s too wide to jump and requires the ultimate sacrifice: a step of faith. I love the way this plays out. It’s written all over Indiana’s face. “There has to be another way. Not this. A step of faith? Are you kidding me?” But Indiana doesn’t let fear stop him. He puts a foot in front of him and falls forward only to find solid ground.”
So may you find that solid ground has been laid before you today, friends. If God is calling, step. Trust that the one who breathed the stars into existence, the one who scooped the dirt from the ground, breathed into each of us His glory and created you and me in His image, this very same God of Abram is the very same loving God who is guiding and moving over each of us today.
You weren’t created to live small. You were created to take big, bold steps that direct all the glory back to the one who is worthy.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.- Jeremiah 29:11-12
Ok. Join me. Ready? Foot out. Now, step.
