Go and God will

Allow me to introduce a new character to the Genesis narrative, Abraham (or Abram before God changes his name). No, he isn’t the main character. Despite thirteen chapters devoted to the story of his life, Abraham is not the center of the story. In fact, when we first meet him, there’s not really anything significant about him. Unlike Enoch who walked with God or Noah who was blameless in his generation, we’re not clued into Abraham’s spiritual life. But very quickly, we see there is something significant about God’s interaction with him.

Read Genesis 12:1-9

Right off the bat, God asks Abraham to do something big. Something seemingly unthinkable. He wants Abraham to leave his country, his family, his home and go to the land that He would show him. Go. That’s all He asks of Abraham. Not “go and”, but just go. And immediately after telling Abraham what he’s to do, God tells him what He’s going to do. God says, “You go and I will…” I will show you, I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great, I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who curse you. I will, I will, I will. Over and over again, God reminds Abraham that He is doing all the work; that what he’s asking of Abraham is tiny in comparison to what He is about to accomplish in Abraham’s life. God had so much in store for Abraham, and wanted nothing from Abraham except that he trust Him.

So to what extent did God want Abraham to trust him? When does God tell Abraham which land He was giving him? In Genesis 12:7, God appears to Abraham and says “To your offspring I will give this land.” Abraham was camped at Shechem at the time. That means he was already in the land that God had promised Him. God was effectively saying to Abraham, “Get in your car (or camel) and drive until I stop you. Trust that I will bring you where I want you to go.” And that’s what Abraham did. He trusted God and had faith that he would not be led astray if he followed God wherever He led.

So what is God calling you to go and do in your life? Take some time to ask God to clearly tell you what that is. Perhaps its to go and talk to your friend about Jesus. Or maybe its to go and befriend that student who is marginalized or totally unlike you. Whatever it is, God is telling you to go and trust Him. I assure you if you do that, the rest of the story becomes about what God will do and is doing. You go and God will.