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. And 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 him who dishonors 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. (12:1-4)
The Lord told Abram to go, and Abram went. He didn’t know ahead of time where he was going – only that he was leaving the familiar and going to a land that God was going to show him. God gave him a pretty big promise: I will make of you a great nation and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. God was going to make of him a great nation? He was seventy-five years old and childless. (We know from the previous chapter that it was common that first children were born when their fathers were in their thirties.) But God said “Go” and Abram went!
When they came 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” (Genesis 12:5-7).
No offspring, but God promised. Abram believed.
God is trustworthy. When He says something, it will come to pass. While He calls and guides various individuals in different, specific ways, there are plenty of statements and promises He makes in His Word that are for all people, that we can take hold of and believe, because…well, God is completely trustworthy. One example is in Matthew 6:25-32 where Jesus says that if we seek God and His kingdom, He will take care of all our needs. My family and I have tried to seek God and His kingdom, and I can testify that He has taken care of our needs – providing not just food, clothing, and homes, but friends and so much more!
I want to be saying “yes” to God, not just in big things, but in the everyday things as well.
Prayer: O Lord! May I be obedient like Abram. May I trust You for the impossible, because nothing is impossible with You, who create things out of nothing. Amen!
