Leave and Go

"The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you"...So Abram went, as the LORD had told him." Genesis 12: 1,4

Human sin had ravaged God's relationship with His beloved creation. Humanity, in its pride and depravity, had separated themselves from their creator. Prior to the great flood, God had found only one righteous person in the world, Noah, that convinced Him not to wipe out all of His work. And then not too long after the second chance shown by God to His creation through Noah, humanity again led by the nose of their sinful nature, constructed the tower of Babel in a futile attempt to gain equality with God.

In spite of humanity's constant efforts at thumbing their collective noses at God's grace, lordship, and love - God's love for humanity never ceased. Even though by all rights He really should have wiped the slate clean with us and started anew - His faithfulness and patience know no end.

God had a plan for the redemption of humanity, in fact, it was a plan for the redemption of all of His creation. And God's plan began with one man, who was asked to obey in faith a rather large askance.

Leave your country...leave your family...leave your house - everything you know, everybody you know, the only life you have ever known - and go to a land I will show you. Not even a specific destination. Just, leave and go. Keep walking in the direction I point you, until I tell you to stop, then you will be there.

But where is there, God? Don't worry about that, just leave and go.

But what am I to do when I get there? Don't worry about that, just leave and go.

But what about my family and life? Don't worry about that, just leave and go.

The redemption of the entirety of creation depended on one man being willing to drop everything, and to leave and go when God asked Him to. Surprisingly, Abram went as the LORD told him to. I say surprisingly because I wonder if I would have left and gone.

I mean, am I the only one who is blown away by Abram's faith and trust in God here. Surely he should have at least asked for a little more information before making his decision right. I often have a hard enough time obeying God in faith for simple things in my life - let alone one in which He calls you away from family, friends and lifestyle to only He knows where.

Abram's trust and faith - his willingness to leave and go - challenges us to do likewise whenever God asks us, no matter what He may ask of us. The simple lesson here is that when God calls you to do anything for Him according to His plan, He will always do His part...He will never leave us hanging, let us down, or spurn our trust with unfaithfulness. If Abram can rightly trust God in this huge choice, surely we are able to leave and go when God calls us amidst the small and simple choices that challenge us in everyday life.

God used the faith of Abram to execute His great plan of redemption for His creation...I wonder what He might be able to accomplish through you and me if we but choose to leave and go in faith when He asks...

Be God's, Scott