Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." Abraham is the second person I want to talk to you about this week. He is the second example of faith. Abraham left all he knew to go to a foreign land because God told him to. He didn't even know where he was going before he said yes. We can all learn a lot about faith from Abraham. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
He Said Yes Even Though He Didn’t Have All The Details
Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
Abraham is the second person I want to talk to you about this week. He is the second example of faith. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Abraham you can read about him in Genesis 12. I will read you a brief part from Genesis 12:1-3, “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.” Man, wouldn’t you love to have a conversation like that with God? God makes some pretty great promises to Abraham in this verse. “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you.” That is a pretty good deal. However, Abraham had to do something in order to have these things that God promised him. He had to leave everything and everyone he knew.
I bet all of us would want this blessing and yet I am not sure any of us would want to do what Abraham had to do. How many of us would want to leave everything and everyone we knew to head out to an undisclosed location? God told Abraham he was going to “the land I will show you.” He didn’t show him ahead of time. God would show him when he got there. This means, as the verse above says, “By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he didn’t know where he was going.” Would you like to head out on a journey not knowing where you are going?
My husband Tony retired from the Air Force. For the first 15 years of our lives together we moved around every few years. The Air Force tends to move their officer’s every 2-3 years. The hardest part about the move is the not knowing. There are a few months when you know you are up for an assignment and you even get some idea of what places are available for you to move to. However, you don’t know which one you are moving to until about 2 months before you have to move. That part where you know you are leaving and you don’t know where you are going is the hardest. Once you know you kick into moving mode and you are busy learning about where you are going, when you are going, and then your packing and moving. Before you know where you are going you are stuck in limbo. You can’t really be excited about going because you don’t know where you are going and yet you can’t really act like nothing is changing as you are sad you are leaving your friends.
I think in any situation, the hardest part is the unknown. Even if we aren’t talking about moving. If you have a sick loved one, or if you are sick, the hardest part is the not knowing what is next, or if you will get better, or how long the sickness, the pain, the discomfort will continue. Abraham did not know where he was going and he said yes any way. God asked him to leave everything for this promise of a better life and Abraham said yes, with no other details. I wonder how many of us would do the same? I wonder how many of us would head out to an undisclosed location? He had to not only leave his father’s house, not only leave his country, but leave his people too. Abraham was married at the time he left. I wonder how his wife felt about leaving everything before they knew where they were going? I wonder if it was hard to persuade her to go? I wonder if she understood what was going on?
Sometimes when we feel God asking us to do something, our family doesn’t understand. They didn’t hear the same thing we heard from God. This can be really hard at times. I said earlier, “wouldn’t it be great to have a conversation like that with God.” God is wanting to have these conversations with us, it is us that is not listening. We are the ones that are not entering into these conversations. When we do enter in, God calls us to do something and we want to have all the details before we move. We want to know every detail about what we need to do and what will happen when we do. God wants to give us the first step and we don’t take it unless we know the next 20 steps that come after it. Don’t feel bad if you are listening and you are feeling as if I am talking to you. I am talking to myself as well.
I feel as though God has asked me to plan a retreat this summer and I have so many questions for Him. He keeps telling me He will give me more info once a book the place and I keep asking for the other details now. Abraham did not have the details ahead of time. Although it doesn’t say if he asked God for more details. It doesn’t say if he sat with the request for a while getting up the courage to go. It just says that God told him to go and he went, by faith.
Abraham is definitely one to look up to if we are struggling with faith. God told him if he went great things would happen and so he went. God is telling us the same thing, we just aren’t listening. God is trying to tell us that if we take that step He is asking us to take, greater things will happen for us. God is calling us to greater things and yet we need to step out in faith. What step is God calling you to take that you are afraid to take? What step is God calling you to take and yet you keep asking for more information before you take that steps?
I have a friend who has really been growing in her ability to listen to the Lord. She had a dream in December that was so vivid and she knew God was calling her to be a substitute teacher at the local school. She always said you couldn’t pay her enough to teach other people’s children and so she laughed when she had this dream. However, she was obedient and signed up to teach. She knew this job was only until the summer and then didn’t know what she would do next. Now God is calling her to move to Nebraska and help out at a retreat center and a different Encounter Ministry Campus. She does not know much more than that and yet she said yes. She doesn’t know the timing, she doesn’t know where she will live, she doesn’t have all the details and yet she is trusting that God will give her that information when she needs to know, what a beautiful example of faith.
What if we stopped fighting with God, stopped questioning God and just said yes? What if we stopped waiting until we had all the answers and just moved forward in faith? What if I said yes, I will plan that retreat, and just found a place, not knowing all the details? What if you said yes to what He is asking you to do? I know it might be scary to say yes without all the details, but if God is calling you to do it, He is going to give you all you need to accomplish it. He will never leave you alone! He will never abandon you! I got a word of prophecy last night and I think God meant it not only for me but for all of you too! The word given to me was that God is always with us. He goes before us, He comes after us, He is right beside us. We are covered in His protection and no one can hurt us because we are His. Trust that He is there with you and that He will be there every step of the way. Step out in faith, knowing He is right beside you.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you and we thank you for speaking to us, even when we don’t listen. We thank you for being patient with us and for continuing to ask us to do things even when we are afraid to take that step. You are such a patient and loving God and we are so grateful. Lord, we ask for an increase in faith and trust so we can take that step without having all the details. Please help us to grow in our ability to hear you and our ability to do as you ask. Help us give you our “Yes" Lord! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Today is our 500th episode together and I am so happy I am not on this journey alone. I am happy we are learning and praying together. Everything is more fun when we get to do it with friends! I look forward to meeting you here tomorrow for another witness Wednesday. Remember Jesus loves you and so do I! Have a blessed day!