GREAT FAITH

ABRAHAM’S GREAT STEP OF FAITH

GENESIS 12:1-4

 

            Have you ever wondered if you were really a person of faith when everything around you seemed very uncertain?  You felt certain God had directed you to do what you were doing but it did not seem the logical thing to do.  You really need to read these verses again.

            Abraham was residing in the land of Ur.  According to archeologists it is believed that there may have been as many as 250,000 people living in Ur.  It was a hub for astronomy, math, philosophy and commerce.  It was the place to be if you were climbing the ladder to success.  This is where you would meet the people and find the jobs to get where you wanted to go.  As far as religion, Sin the moon god was the primary object of worship at that place and time.  Yet in the midst of all that was going good for Abraham God spoke to him and said for him to leave Ur and go somewhere that he would reveal to him at a later date.  Now Abraham was a man of faith and had many acts of faith but I am not sure any were much greater than this.

            When you are living in a good neighborhood and your kids are in a good school and they are making good grades, it isn’t easy to just pack up and leave.   When your wife is happy and has friends that are tried and true, it isn’t easy to leave.  Maybe you are leaving a high paying job with room for advancement but God has somewhere else for you to work.  It may not make much sense what is going on but you know that God has spoken. 

            Can you imagine how tough it may have been for Abraham after years in the dessert, living in tents when people in their clan may have said “we could have been living in Ur?” It is easy for us to question our faith when we base all our questions on the circumstances we are facing.  We should remember Abraham had something else.  He had God’s promise.  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Gen 12:2-3 (KJV).   God doesn’t call us out from our comfortable surroundings and leave us nothing to stand on.  No, the same one who calls us goes with us.  “Through the fire, through the flood, we are covered by the blood.  I AM with thee.” 

            You may look around today and feel so many people have it better than you but if you have followed God’s call and you are remaining faithful to his call then you are in the best place you could possibly be.  Others may have more money, greater worldly success but you are at peace with God.  He will never leave you or forsake you and great is your reward in Heaven.

 

 

Yours in Christ,

 

Brother Randy Burtram

 

(Originally published January 17, 2016)