BIBLE READINGS

Genesis 12:1-3 NIV
[1] … The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. [2] “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you ."

Hebrews 11:8 NIV
"By 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."

REFLECTION

What if you had the choice right now of seeing into the future and knowing all that lies ahead for your life? Would you want to see that? I'm sure, you'd be tempted. I know there's things I'd love to have a clearer idea about. However, when I really think it through, I'm glad God doesn't let us see everything up front. If He did, we'd probably be paralysed into doing nothing or we'd try to run ahead of His schedule. Either way we'd end up in a mess. Not knowing what lies ahead is exactly why we need this thing called 'faith' that the Bible talks so much about. Faith is trusting God every day, with each decision, taking one step at a time, believing that God has a purpose and plan for our lives.

Abraham is known as the 'father of faith' for a reason. Just look at verse 1 again:

"The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you." (v. 1)

Can you imagine Abram going home to his wife that evening and saying:

"Darling, pack the bags, we're moving!"

"Where sweetheart?", she might reply.

"I've no idea. God just said go and He'll show us along the way," responds Abram.

I'm sure she was delighted. But that's often how God works. He tells us to take a first step of faith, and everything depends on and follows from our initial response. We can obey or refuse. But our obedience opens. Up a whole new world of possibility. I often put it like this: "When we move, He moves."

We see this again later in Scripture when God tells Joshua to have the people walk into the deep River Jordan, and when they step into the water, it will stop flowing. I'd personally have preferred it if the river stopped first. But that would have required no faith. But they do what God commands and: "...as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing." (Jos 3: 15-16)

It all began with one step - but when they moved, God moved.

Just one step of obedience and faith - that's often all it takes to release the resources of Heaven on our behalf. It's normally one step which is costly though. There's risk attached. We might lose something, we might look silly, we might initially regret it. And yet, as we look back, we see the hand of God at work in us and through us.

Sometimes God doesn't tell us where He's taking us, He just tells us that we can't stay where we are any longer. Like a baby in the womb at the time of labour, we're being pushed out of the warmth and comfort into unfamiliar territory.

We have personally experienced that as a family this year. We had spent 5 years leading a church in Dublin when we sensed God's Spirit moving us on. Our time there was done, our assignment was complete. There was only one small problem: we had nowhere to move to! The sensible and secure thing would have been to wait until we had a new assignment. But we strongly felt that we were to step out in faith and trust God for what lies ahead. I have to tell you, it has stretched my faith.

Right now the Holy Spirit is whispering to some of you: "Will you take that one step I've been asking you to take. Will you go 'all in' on Me and My Word?"

We may not have the whole picture right now, it may be just a strong sense, but remember what Jesus said in John 13:7: "You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

When we move, He moves.