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I’ve been meditating on Abraham’s steps of faith while reading Hebrews chapter 11, which is said to be the “hall of faith” among people who boldly obeyed God’s call.
I wonder what Abraham must have felt when the Lord told him to “go to a place He would later receive as his inheritance” even though “he did not know where he was going?”
While on one end, the Lord was telling him he would be receiving an inheritance, big, old, Abe didn’t specifically know yet where he’s headed.
Abraham literally had to leave his “country, his people and his father’s household” to “go to the land the Lord will show him” (Genesis 12:1).
That’s a tough act to follow you might say.
He left his comfort zone, where he had everything he needed. For one, Ur, his birthplace, was a progressive city, being the principal commercial center of the country as well as the center of political power at that time.
He also left his “support system”, the people he grew up with as well as the family he had been with in Ur, and later, Haran.
Imagine being torn away from your best friend, business partners or your closest family members—for good? That’s what Abraham faced at that time.
When he left Haran, the family Abraham had was his wife Sarai (later Sarah) and his nephew Lot.
Everything he needed was there in Ur and later, in Haran. Perhaps, a question that was lingering in Abraham’s mind while he was packing his stuff was, “Why leave the land, Lord?” “Why not stay here and then you can do what you want with me?”
But if he allowed those thoughts to influence his action, then he would be walking by sight already, and not by faith.
So, in spite of the uncertainties ahead, Abraham entirely rested his future and his family’s future in God’s Sovereign hand.
Hebrews 11:8-9 says, 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
But here’s what motivated Abraham to take a bold, step of faith…
10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham realized that while Ur and Haran were both progressive cities, with massive structures and economically wealthy places to boot, such places pale in comparison to a future where God is the “architect and builder”..
For Abraham, if you make God your ultimate architect and builder of life, your future will be secure—regardless of the uncertainties you may face today.
Abraham faced uncertainties—didn’t know where to go and didn’t know what lies ahead of him—but one thing sure for him was that God is the “architect and builder” of his future.
Uncertain? Afraid? Anxious about your future? We can be like Abraham, who didn’t took matters into his own hand, but yielded his life to God, the architect and builder of life.