I have taught kids since I was 20. While I prefer working with older kids, I have occasionally taught preschoolers when needed. One of the songs the kids love is “Father Abraham.” It is a song that teaches the truth that He was the Father of the Old Testament faith. It says, “Father Abraham had many sons, I am one of them, and so are you, so let’s just praise the Lord.” Then the song says right arm, and you start moving that arm while singing. This goes on until your entire body has been called on to move from your head to your toes. It is my least favorite children’s song!
In Genesis chapter 12, he could have been called the Father of Faith. God gives Abraham a command to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household. The instructions were to go to a land that God would show him. He also gives him a promise; Genesis 12:2-3 “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.”
While we may think this was common among those in the Bible, let me remind you of a few things. The last recorded communication from God directly was to Noah. It had been at least 422 years since instructions had come from God. Abraham was now 70 years old. The most incredible part is that God did not tell Abraham where He would send him. The instructions were a bit vague; he was to leave all the comforts and safety of a large community, and then, one step at a time, God would show him where to go. He did not have a GPS, a map, or a cell phone to double-check the instructions. All he had was faith and a desire to obey. However, it was not blind faith. It was faith in a God he had heard about his whole life. Ancestors had passed down all the wonderful ways God had taken care of them. He was anchored in the faith he had been taught. Now it was time to put his faith into action. To prove it was real and not just words. He was leaving comfort for the unknown.
Abraham did not wait to make sure the budget could handle such a move. He did not sit and make a list of the pros and cons of the situation. In Genesis 12:1, God said, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” God said, “Go,” and Abraham went! Did he wonder what God was doing? I am sure there may have been questions in his mind because that is how Satan works, God says do this, Satan comes and plants seeds of doubt. However, Abraham obeyed. To those left behind, this must have seemed wildly outrageous, but to him it was an adventure that God controlled. His faith was not in how much he could carry with him or how others felt about his decision.
Abraham was fully surrendered to God’s will for his life. What about you? Are there areas of your life where you are waiting for the perfect conditions before you obey what God has placed in your heart? What areas of obedience are uncomfortable to you? Maybe you fear witnessing to others because they may shut you down or make fun of you. You are allowing the discomfort that the world imposes to keep you from the greatest feeling other than your salvation experience that a Christian can have. It is also keeping someone from hearing the gospel. While the world gives us every excuse you can think of to miss time studying the Bible, praying, witnessing, or serving, it is up to us to step out in faith and obey. If you are not doing these simple things, you will not know what God wants you to do.
In Hebrews 11:8, we are told that “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” His life teaches us that faith isn’t the absence of doubt or the presence of a detailed plan, but it is obedience in the face of the unknown. If you are waiting for the perfect moment, for everything to line up in order for you to obey, then you are not walking by faith, but by sight. God does not suggest we walk by faith; He requires it.
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
