Obeying in Faith

 

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."

Gen 12:1-3

Every time I read about Abram, I am constantly amazed by his steadfast faith in and obedience to the Lord.  The first verse of Genesis 12 simply blows me away.  God tells Abram that He is sending him to a land that He will show him.  Abram has no way of knowing whether this land even exists or not!  He has no direction and no destination except God's promise that He will show him where he needs to go.  

There is definitely a reason God chose Abram as a prophet as opposed to yours truly.  If God told me to leave everything behind without giving me specific directions as to where I would be going, I honestly would have a ton of questions.  What should I bring?  What will I wear?  Are there nice people there?  Will I be able to find dark chocolate there?  Why do I have to leave my home anyway?  

Yep, I'm a planner.  And I like to know what God's doing in my life.  Sure, I want to follow His will, but I want to know what His plan is before I strike out blindly.  

That's not exactly the way God always works though.  Sometimes He may tell us to take a specific job or go to a certain college months in advance.  Other times, we don't really know what we're doing or where we are until we get there.  But God's will and timing are perfect, and no matter how much I beg Him to tell me His plan for the next thirty years of my life, He won't reveal it until the time is right.  And I trust in Him to do exactly that.  

  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6