“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”
Hebrews 11:8
The joy of the Journey of Faith is the journey itself, not the Final Destination.
“Where we headed?”
Most likely, that’s the question Abram was inwardly asking that day when God called him out at the age of 75-years-old (Gen. 12:4). Instead of kicking back, relaxing and enjoying his 401K, Abram was setting sail for parts unknown with his 65-year-old wife, Sarai. . .their teenage nephew, Lot, whose father had died. . .their servants and livestock. . .and everything they owned in this world (v.5).
No moving vans. No U-Hauls. No G.P.S. No map. No nothing.
Nothing, that is, except faith in “Who God is and what He has promised” (Heb. 11:6). And, implicit trust in the One Who’d said “Follow Me.”
How many of us would be willing to do the same? To sign on the dotted line of a blank sheet of paper and say “Sure, God, You go ahead and put whatever You want on there—good or bad—and I’ll still not look back”?
Hmm. . .sure got quiet in here all of a sudden.
Yes, we say we live by faith, but the truth of the matter is that most of us are willing to follow the Lord “wherever,” so long as it doesn’t cost us much or move us too far out of our comfort zone. We love the “rewards” of following Him, but tend to shy away from the “risks.” We much prefer the “shallows” over the “deep” even if He wants to lead us there—and even though we say we believe “underneath are the everlasting arms of God” (Dt. 33:27).
But, oh, dear Pilgrim, if we’re ever going to go with God, we’ve got to be willing to launch out into the deep and even get out of the boat (as Peter did) if the situation demands it. In so doing, we demonstrate simplistic, implicit trust in the One by Whose Name we’re called.
And, remember:
Jesus didn’t come to make our lives miserable; He came that they might be “abundantly full and overflowing” (Jn. 10:10b; Eph. 3:20). And, to do this He oftentimes has to stretch us beyond what we think are our limits—all for the purpose of reminding us that we have a “death sentence within us so we should not trust in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead” (II Cor. 1:8-9). An “Exciting Adventure,” indeed!
So, what do you think?
Are you ready to be a “Friend of God” like Abraham was (James 2:23)? Are you willing, as Corrie ten Boom said, to “trust an unknown future to a known God”? Are you willing to “take the leap of faith,” knowing it’s not a blind leap, but a blessed one indeed into the waiting arms of the Master? Truly, the life of faith is the life of childlike trust. And, oh how sweet it is! “Going without knowing WHERE we’re going—but always knowing with WHOM we’re going.” Hallelujah!!
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated March 24, 2011