Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see…It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called Him to leave Home and go to another land that God would give Him as an inheritance. He went without knowing where He was going. And even when He reached the land God promised Him, he lived there by faith-for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. (Hebrews 1:11, 8-10)
There is so much that we can learn from the story of Abraham. God makes Abraham a big promise. In Genesis 12, God promises Abraham that He will give him land, make him into a great nation and bless all the nations of the world through him, a promise that would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Yet at the time God makes this promise, Abraham and his wife Sarah are in what seems like a hopeless situation. The couple is well past child rearing years. In fact, Abraham is 75 years old. In enters God and introduces hope where there was none.
The promise God gives Abraham requires that he trust God beyond what he can see. God asks Abraham to leave his native country to go a land that God would show him. Abraham must leave all that he is familiar with. He must leave his sense of security and predictability. He must leave the place where he is already well-established to enter unfamiliar territory. God doesn’t tell Abraham where he is going. He doesn’t tell him how he will get there. He doesn’t even tell him when he will get there. He simply promises to show Abraham the way.
I wish that God’s promises and plans came with a blueprint. If I had it my way, God would clue me in to every plan He has for my future well in advance. I would be provided with a step-by-step list of instructions, along with information regarding what to expect and any road bumps I should anticipate. He would even throw in a few pie charts and a map or two to make things crystal clear. He doesn’t do that though.
Why? Because he wants me to trust Him beyond what I can see.
Any solid relationship is built on trust. The same thing goes with our relationship with God. God wants us to trust Him enough that we will lean on and rely on Him in each stage of this journey. He desires to lead us on this adventure. He knows that if he were to outline the journey for us before we took one step, we might be tempted to pick up the map and attempt to make the journey on our own! God wants us to trust Him with the unknowns, the unfamiliarity, and the uncertainty. He wants us to trust Him with our fears and our insecurities.
He wants to know…will we trust Him enough to take hold of His hand and take the first step, even when we don’t know where we are going? He wants us to know He is trustworthy.
