Faith without Sight

 

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. 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. 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.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:1-4 ESV).

 

Abraham had lived in Ur, a big city in its day, and with his extended family he had moved to Harran (Genesis 11:31). Ur was in modern-day Iraq, and Harran was in modern-day Turkey. Abraham was prosperous, and even if he wasn’t looking for God to take over his life, God was looking for him with a special plan in mind. Because of this, Abraham’s life changed in a big way. At that time his name was Abram, but God later changed his name to Abraham (cf. Genesis 17:5.) In effect, God said, “Leave your country, your culture, your clan, and follow me.” That’s not easy to do when you are 25 years old, much less 75 years old. He was successful and settled making it even more difficult. And God didn’t give Abraham a map to follow. God simply said, “Go … to the land I will show you.”

 

Mary and I have moved many times in our half-century of marriage. We’ve lived in three different states, over 20 different houses, and 10 different cities. In every one of those moves we felt certain God was leading us; however, we always had some idea of what we were moving to. Abraham had no such foreknowledge. I can’t imagine the faith it must have taken for him to simply go where God told him.

 

When it comes to God’s calling in our life, we like to have both clarity and content. We want a detailed description of where to go and what to do when we get there. But God seldom works that way. God wants us to exercise faith, not simply our intellect. He wants us to learn to walk by faith in him, rather than simply by sight. Not every call of God involves relocation, but every call does involve leaving some of our past behind and venturing into the unknown with God as our guide. What is your next step in your journey of faith? Trust Him. He will always give you what you need.