Get out!

God told Abraham to leave his home and go to a new place that he would show him. He put faith into action and went.

Would you begin a journey having so few details? Let’s look at the story in Genesis 12.

The command…

“Now the Lord had said to Abram, Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (v. 1).

The promise…

“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (v. 2-3).

The response…

“So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran” (v. 4).

The promise enlarged…

“Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land” (v. 7a).

The response…

“And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel…There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South” (v. 7b-9).

There’s a lot to be said for obedience. God said “Get out!” and Abram went.

Along the way, he had some colossal mess-ups. Twice he tried to pass his beautiful wife Sarah off as his sister—technically she was, the daughter of his father but not his mother. And then there was that child he fathered with Sarah’s maidservant Hagar—at his wife’s prompting! Just trying to help God out a bit. Abraham needed an heir.

It’s easy for us to look at these decisions and think Abraham could have done it better. But haven’t you found that, even when we know we’ve heard from God, following can be hard?

The name Abraham stands out in biblical history. He was…

• A man of faith—he believed God.
• A friend of God.

He waited twenty-five years for God to fulfill his promise. At 100 years of age, he and Sarah (ninety) welcomed baby Isaac. A miracle.

“For Abraham, human reason for hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations as he had been promised, So numberless shall your descendants be” (Romans 4:18 Amplified).

“No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised” (Romans 4:20-21 Amplified).

When circumstances give no reason to hope, will you believe God? Will you listen to his quiet voice in your heart urging you to trust him, instructing you to take a different path, though it makes no sense as far as human reasoning?

The Lord has a way of doing things so there’s no mistaking who did it!

It’s an average day for him—pulling off another miracle.

“And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and this was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God’s will in thought and deed), and he was called God’s friend” (James 2:23 Amplified).

In baffling circumstances, when we choose to trust and obey, imagine the scene in heaven. The Lord looks down, saying with a broad smile, “A few still believe in me. Human reason for hope being gone—as good as dead—they do not waver through unbelief but hope in faith. They believe me…trust me…rely on me…remain steadfast to me. I’m crediting it to them as right standing. They are my friends.”

May we be known as people of faith and friends of God.

Please tell me about a time you stepped out in faith, trusting God although you felt unsure about the destination. And I’d appreciate your sharing this with your friends!

© Dianne Barker 2019

(Scriptures from NKJV unless noted.)