COURAGE FOR THE CALL - Part 1

I enjoy reading the "Heros Of The Faith" Chapter in the Bible (Hebrews 11), and one of my most favorites is Abraham! Why? Well, read it here with me: "By Faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance [from God]; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:8-10). Wow! God called, Abram (later named Abraham) obeyed! A look at Abram's call from God recorded in the ancient text of Genesis will show us it speaks with amazing present-day relevance! From Genesis, Chapter 12, let's begin by enumerating God's call and the promises given to Abram.

First, GOD'S CALL! "Then the LORD told Abram, 'Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you' " (Genesis 12:1). This call was definite, direct and specific! Abram knew it was from God; he knew it meant to pack up and travel. The only thing he didn't know was where his travel would take him. He realized his destination would only be to a land of God's choosing! That was good enough for Abram; his FAITH kicked in and he set out in obedience to God's call. I can only imagine the courage his action took.

Second, God accompanies His call to Abram with exceedingly great promises! It is a reminder of the fact that what God calls us to do, He gives us His assurance that His blessings will accompany our obedience as we trust Him! Here is the list of God's promises to Abram.

1) "I will make you a great nation." (Fulfilled in the Nation of Israel)

2) "I will bless you and make your name great." (Fulfilled as we still read about him today - Hebrews)

3) "You will be a blessing." (Fulfilled as Israel blesses other nations and peoples)

4) "I will bless those who bless you, and curse the one who curses you." (A warning to those who

even today practice antisemitism.)

5) "In you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Fulfilled in the Messiah Jesus!)

And notice how Abram responded to God's call and promises. "So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him. . . .Did you realize Abram was seventy-five years old when he left from Haran, taking his wife, his nephew and all his possessions? (Genesis 12:4-6). Abram knew God had blessed him with family and possessions, and as he journeyed, he periodically set up the altars at which he worshipped the LORD. Abram realized ALL that he possessed had been given to him from God's gracious "hand" of provision and it was his privilege and responsibility to honor God with ALL of it! Do we truly realize and acknowledge that ALL we have is given to us by God and that we are accountable to Him for its use? First and foremost, we use our resources for God's Glory!

Upon arriving in the Land of Canaan, which God had promised and led Abram to, God appeared again to him and said, "I am going to give this land to your offspring" (Genesis 12:7). That is why the Land of Israel belongs to Israel forever!

Thus, we have the Scriptural backdrop of this account of Abram's call from the LORD! Let's consider the significance of God's call to him.

First, IT IS A CALL TO TRAVEL WITH GOD! God commanded Abram to take a journey! It was NOT an invitation, but a Command! It would be a long and a difficult trip.. It would be an uncomfortable task. And it would require everything that Abram could achieve or accumulate over the remainder of his life. Remember: God is more determined to develop our character than he is about our comfort or convenience! The sooner we learn that truth, the better our lives will be!

Notice that Abram did not speak a word in this story; no questions, no excuses, no arguments, no tests, no complaints! I'm reminded of a humorous story of a husband and wife who were in a verbal tussle with each other one morning just after breakfast. "I really don't want to go", the husband, Mark said to his wife, Virginia. "You have to get ready and go, dear" she said. "I really do not like all it takes for me to go there" Mark replied. Virginia tried to console him and told him, "Yes you do." "But, nobody there cares about whether or not I'm there" Mark complained. "Sure they do" she assured him. Mark insisted, "I just really don't want to go today." Virginia insisted right back, "You have to go to church this morning; you're peaching!"

Abram doesn't search for the hidden answers. IF Abram is doing some soul-searching, "Why would God want me to do this? What greater purpose does He have in mind?" we are not told. God certainly does have a huge, amazing plan for Abram. But Abram does not make it his problem to decipher and decode God's agenda! He just jumps on the road and travels with God. God speaks and with ears of faith Abram listens! He realizes that his job is to JOIN GOD ON THE TRIP! He's got his wife and his nephew with him, but Abram quickly and frequently discovers that God is his true traveling companion!

And for Abram the journey has just begun. He's now 75 years old. He has gone his whole life without children. Married to Sarai (later named Sarah) for the far majority of those years, both hoping God would bless them, struggling with questions about why things weren't working out the way they had hoped and even prayed. So many years feeling hopeless, helpless, struggling with doubts and despair about the effectiveness of their faith and concerning their future. But at 75, Abram gets a call - it's God on the other end of the line!

So, what does all this mean to you and to me? It reminds me that God calls us to Travel with Him and Trust the destination to Him! By FAITH, we can and must do that! But sometimes we are a little too busy to hear Him, aren't we? At times we are too pre-occupied to hear His voice, a little too proud to consider the call, too involved in other things, or even just talking too much! In our prayer life we spend all kinds of time talking. We tell God what we want or what we need or what others desire. Most of us don't have an issue with talking TO GOD, but have not cultivated the ability and/or desire to listen to HIM. Here's a suggestion: for ten days, instead of making a prayer request list to talk to God about, let's make ourselves listen intently, with our Bible open, to God, believing He will speak to us. Ascertain if you hear His call to travel with Him on a journey!

Second, IT IS A CALL TO TRUST GOD! It is truly important to observe how much of God's promise to Abram is still unfilled toward the end of this part of his life in Chapter 12. Let's look at them.

1) The Land of Canaan was still occupied by a hostile culture and people.

2) Abram, Sarai and Lot were now "homeless."

3) Abram and Sarai still have no children; no descendants.

These facts must have blown Abram's mind and perhaps troubled his inner spirit. How is all this that God promised going to happen? Abram can't make it be fulfilled! He can't take the land, he has not found a new home, he does not have a son! His present situation seems to him to be worse than it was in Haren before he set out on this God-directed journey. He had his home, security, peace, and convenience; now he had none of that! Does it sound familiar that your situation seems to worsen rather than improve, when you seek to follow God's direction?

What's the point? We need to be aware that this is the start of a call for Abram to trust God; not himself, not his talents, not his ideas, not his work, not his friends or relatives, BUT, TRUST GOD!

Our persisent problem is we tend to trust more in ourselves than we do in God to bless us, meet our needs, and to fulfill His promises.

• We trust our knowledge and experience.

• We trust our skills and talents.

• We trust our wisdom and intelligence.

• We trust in our creativity, ingenuity and technology.

• We trust in medicine.

• We trust our beliefs and practices.

• We trust our feelings and religious instincts.

Abram quickly discovers that if he is going to answer and obey God's call, he will have to find COURAGE to believe in the ONE who is greater than himself! The same is true for you and me. We must trust God's power, not our own craftiness or abilities. Instead of believing in ourselves, as we are told to do much of our lives, let's start putting OUR TRUST IN GOD! Depend on Him to help you find the COURAGE TO DO SO!

TO BE CONTINUED - Read next week's blog for Part 2