The Daily Encounter
"A Passion to Finish Well"
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)
The God-ward life has never been defined by safety, security, comfort, or convenience. It has always been a journey of faith and obedience into the unknown. And yet while difficult and challenging, it is a life that leads to greater blessings than we could have ever imagined.
This is way God works. This is the way God has ALWAYS worked. You can find a pattern for this kind of life all the way back in the beginning of the Bible in Genesis 12.1-3 as God forms a special relationship (covenant) with Abraham.
God's conversation with Abraham begins with a call to leave ... his country, his family, and his Father's house (a source of identity and favored position). That's a very detailed and comprehensive list of things to walk away from. All of those helped shaped Abraham's sense of comfort, familiarity, and security in life.
So where did God ask Abraham to go? He didn't tell him! He just said He would show him along the way!!! Think about the trust God was asking for. Think about the life of faith He was calling him to. Think about the depth of relationship Abraham would have to experience with God daily to arrive safely at his destination.
That's a big ask. But the good news is it came with a greater blessing. God promised Abraham that if he would obey God would give Him a great name, make him into a great nation, and through him create a great blessing that would ultimately extend to "all the families of the earth".
That's how God works! He asks us to do hard things. He asks us to die to ourselves. He asks us to leave behind life as we've imagined and crafted it to embrace a journey of uncertainty with Him alone as our guide. But in return He promises to bless us and ultimately to extend that blessing to the whole world as we carry the name of Christ.
So ...
- What is God asking you to leave?
- Where (or to whom) is He asking you to go?
Only on the other side of your obedience will you discover His greatest and most enduring blessings.
-Landon R
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