Many of us long for God to move powerfully in our lives and fulfill our deepest dreams and desires. How many of you like me have had a secret prayer in your heart that remains unanswered for years? I believe that God has the power to do whatever He wants in our lives, but sometimes before we can see Him move we need to step out of our comfort zones in an act of both faith and obedience. There is a man who lived out such radical faith and also shows what God can do with radical obedience and that man’s name is Abraham.
God’s Promise
When we are first introduced to Abraham, he is living with his family in the city of Ur in the land of the Chaldeans. Right away God makes Abraham a powerful promise, but in order for God to move and fulfill his promise Abraham has to step out in faith and obedience. God says to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 verses 1-3, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those that bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of earth will be blessed.”
Abraham’s Choice
God makes Abraham this amazing and unprecedented promise, but first Abraham must demonstrate complete obedience to God by uprooting himself and his entire family and leaving the only land that they have ever known. They have to leave what is known and comfortable, and trust God and set out for the unknown. In my study Bible the editor comments, “God’s invitation to Abraham, challenges him to abandon the normal sources of personal identity and security: his family and country. To obey, Abraham must trust God implicitly; all human support is largely removed. The promised outcomes are conditional on Abraham’s obedience.”
What astonishes me is Abraham’s response to God. He leaves his country without question. There’s no period of deliberation. Abraham does not say, “This sounds really good God, but give me some time to weigh the pros and cons.” Abraham’s trust in God is absolute, and without question he leaves as God commanded him. Maybe God has been calling you to step out in faith and you’ve been afraid to. Take courage from the example of Abraham and do whatever God’s been asking of you because whatever He has in store for you is so much better than what you’ll be leaving behind.
History-Changing Results
Abraham demonstrates his remarkable trust in God not just this once but numerous times. Later when God speaks to Abraham in a vision, He promises that he will have a son even though his wife Sarah is old and barren. God then says to Abraham, ‘“Look toward heaven and number the stars if you are able to number them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be,”’ (Genesis 15:5). God makes this incredible promise that flies in the face of all logic, but again without hesitation Abraham believes God and that his belief was counted to him as righteousness.
Abraham becomes the patriarch of the nation of Israel and from his bloodline eventually comes Jesus, who will redeem all mankind. God richly blessed Abraham and fulfilled all of his promises to him because he was bold enough to step out in faith and trust in Him completely. How about you? How could God be calling you to step out in faith? It may be scary to do so, but God’s blessings for you could be waiting right around the corner. All God’s looking for is for us to say yes and amen to his plans and purposes for us.