Going On Faith

Imagine that you are Abram and God spoke directly to you.  How would you respond?

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. 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 the one who curses 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. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb. - Genesis 12:1-9

We talked about this reading yesterday in the men's group and one thing stood out.  God was directing Abram and his family to enter a strange land and claim it for God's people.  

That's a big deal.  

And Abram went, which is an even bigger deal because all he had to go on was faith that God had a plan and it was going to work out.

Could we go on faith like that?

I admit that over the past several years, my faith in faith has increased immensely.  I just trust in God's support for all I do and it seems to be working.

Now, you could argue that the strength comes from within.  Confidence molds itself into courage and courage gives us the ability to persevere.

How much of what we accomplish is due to sticking with the problem until we work it out?

So, the most important thing God gave Abram, and gives us, is confidence, trust in Him to move mountains for us.

It works.

But you have to be all in, or you will not persevere.  I think that is the secret to how God works in our lives.  He gives us the work to do and guides us through the thick of it.

We just cannot let go or give up.

More to come...