Abram had no idea what God had in store for him. His mind couldn’t imagine what God was going to do. Yet he packed up his camels, his turbans, and what-have-you, loaded up the family, and headed toward a strange land. He was the original Grapes of Wrath story. What made him do it? His faith. His faith that God wasn’t going to do him wrong. His faith that God wasn’t going to lead him to a place with no provision for him and his family. His faith in God’s promises.
What if Abram had stayed?
What if he had decided that the whole venture was just a little too risky? What if he chose to stick with what was familiar? I don’t know the answer to all of that, other than knowing that God wouldn’t have been able to use him the way He did. Sure, God has a destiny for all of us, a plan that He has known since before we took a breath, but He never forces us to do anything. We take our own steps, whether they are toward His will or away from it.
The thing that’s scary is that the steps toward His will are the hardest of all because they require us to leave the familiar. Wasn’t it Loretta Lynn who said something like, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”? And yes, I just quoted Loretta Lynn. Bear with me because this isn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last.
It’s all about faith.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. — Hebrews 11:8
Only [God] can take the weak things of this world and use them for His plans and purposes.
He is the architect and the builder. Our job is to take the step of faith, away from what we know and away from the false security we cling to, toward what He is building with our lives. He never promised it would be easy, and He certainly never promised it would be on our timetable; He just promised that with Him all things are possible and He’ll be with us always.
~From Everyday Holy by Melanie Shankle
Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!
No comments:
Post a Comment