As I sit here, quietly allowing disconnected words to swim around in
the oceanic depths of my mind, I hear my eight month old daughter
babbling on the baby monitor. She's awake and the sounds are both
precious and overwhelming. I've been wanting to write for weeks now, but
each time I sit down to try, I'm quickly pulled away by other life
demands. I call out for my 13 year old son to help, which he does, and
I've bought a few more moments of solitude in which to think and
organize my current message. The times are blessed, but challenging.
In December of last year, I packed up and left California, the only home
I'd known for over a decade, and headed east. I imagine what Abram
must have felt when the Lord told him to get up and go to a land He
would show him. Genesis 12:1 records God's instruction to him and it's
direct, but void of elaborate detail. He said to Abram, "Go from your
country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show
you." In essence, leave everything familiar, all that you know and
love, and go somewhere new and unknown. From what we can read in the
text, God told him nothing of the new place, He simply called Abram to
obey in faith. A risky venture for most, but the New Testament Hall of
Faith Fame, Hebrews 11, puts Abram, later called
Abraham, on shiny display as a model of righteousness, faith, and
obedience (Hebrews 11:8-12). He didn't have all the answers, but he
went. He couldn't see the outcome, but he trusted God. He undoubtedly
felt sadness and grief to leave his family, friends, and comforts
behind, but he didn't count any of it so precious or too valuable (Acts
20:24) to miss the call of God. He knew where he was rooted. Do you?
