By Faith, Obey.

Hello! What a whirlwind of a couple months, am I right?! This year started and it started HARD. Resolutions, goals, dreams, choices, etc. You name it, they have been made, and may have even come to a premature end. I, for one, am not usually a resolution-maker; primarily because I am not a resolution-keeper. I can’t even begin to describe the superfluous goals that I have created for myself that I have completely botched. But, just for fun, here are a couple:

1. Lose weight. The go-to goal of women and men across the globe. Call me a follower.
2. Run a marathon. Thank you, asthma, for the reminder that this is a useless goal.
3. Run a 5K. A toned down version of goal #2. The number of “Couch-to-5K” programs I have started and never finished is appalling.
4. Go for a walk three times a week. You’ll notice that my fitness goals have become more realistic with each aging year. Reality is a beautiful thing to come to terms with.
5. Keep a journal. Nope.

Anyway, I am confident that you, dear reader, have goals that you have made (and kept) for yourself. And to that I say, “brava” (or “o” for the male audience)!! My follow through with most resolutions is disappointing, and therefore, they shall not be made. The end.

This year, however, I did give myself one goal. It is not to be completed in one year. It is not to be completed in any frame of time. Rather, it is just something I would like to accomplish in my lifetime. I feel like keeping my window of time wide open allows for more success - hopefully. So, this goal that I have made. What is it, you ask, most definitely sitting on the edge of your seat?! 

My goal is to read through the entire Bible from Genesis through Revelation. 

Wow. My lead-up to the announcement of that goal was much more exciting than the actual news. I know. But, let me just tell you, I am way excited to have finally made the commitment to do it! And, since setting that goal for myself after Ryan Seacrest said, “Happy New Year, America!” I have read all the way through……Genesis 23. You read that right my friend. It has been nearly 38 days, and I have read only 23 chapters. This is why I don’t do timeline based resolutions. Also, this schedule, or lack thereof, allows me to really dig in to the Scripture. Which, is the whole point of this blog post.

So, thank you for reading all 430 of my introductory words to get to this point: the body. The meat. The application of what it is that I have been reading. Whew!

If you know a little bit about the Bible, you may have heard the name Abraham. Or, if you attended Sunday school in the early nineties, you’ve sung about our hero in the childhood classic, “Father Abraham.” You know the one: “Father Abraham had many sons…many sons…right foot….left foot…..turn around….” and so on. As a young girl, I often wondered why I had to sing about all the sons this man had and what essentially doing the hokey-pokey had to do with them. I digress. 

Regardless of the childhood musicals that you may or may not have sung, Abraham was a righteous and blessed man. He started out with obedience. Something I certainly am learning to grow in. In Genesis 12:1-2, God says to Abraham, “‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house. To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing’” (NKJV). And Abraham did it. Verse 4 reads, “So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.” 

Did you catch that? SEVENTY FIVE. He was no Spring chicken. I think as a member of the Millennial age group, I often limit myself to where God has brought me thus far; forgetting that there are still years to come in which He can decide to shake things up. Abraham left his family, after seventy five years of being in the same land. He just left. He did what God told him to. The Bible doesn’t tell us if there was grumbling and frustration post God’s announcement to leave, so we can simply infer that Abraham just packed up, and left. Dang. [Soap box side note: if the Bible doesn’t have anything to say, don’t add words to the page!] 

I have read through a couple more of Abraham’s character traits, and this one alone is worthy to stop at and dive into. I think that as Christians in America, we might have a tendency to limit our relationship with God to Sunday mornings, the occasional quiet times, and maybe some weekday studies. Those are not inherently bad things. In fact, the more community you are able to be involved with, the better! The issue is what happens when God calls us to move. 

Am I so comfortable that I refuse? Have I become too accustomed to my current way of life? Do I limit myself by thinking “this is it?”

As Christians, we ought to hold our lives with an open hand. First, because we are to be used by God. And second, because it is so much more rewarding when we do obey! 

I was speaking to a new acquaintance of mine the other day. He was telling me that he and his family were in one location for ten years, totally loved it, started a church there, and were growing. And then God called him elsewhere, and he packed up his family, and they moved across the country. When asked if he was glad to have moved to a new place he said, “I loved the city I left. But, we gotta go where He calls, ya know?” 

That totally struck me. “We gotta go where He calls.” When we lay down our lives and become followers of Christ, we are essentially relinquishing the keys to our future. Not because we take an inactive role. No! But because we should be willing to be sent. Much like the prophet Isaiah, I need to be willing to jump at the chance to go where the Lord sends me. (Read Isaiah 6:8).

Hebrews 11 gives a cool review of the life of Abraham and it begins with this: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8, NKJV). Man, if I had to pick one verse in the whole Bible to relate the most to, it just might be this one. “And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” I feel that on a deep level. I don’t know what is next. I don’t even know where is next. But, the key lies in the first two words of the verse: “by faith.”

This means that Abraham just knew that God was going guide him, that He was going to come through on His promises, and that he would be faithfully cared for. 

I am sure that there are some of you reading this who are lost, hurting, confused, or maybe even numb. Why are you where you are? What brought you to this place? Well, let me say this: as someone who moved states with a five-year plan placing me in Africa, I am DEFINITELY not in the place I thought I would be. But, I am much more joyful, grateful, and thankful that I obeyed God and went where He called me. 

It’s not easy to obey. We are sinful people who need some extra insisting more often than not. But, it is possible - by faith. 

So, let me leave you with this thought: are you living your life willing to be moved, pushed, pulled, called, challenged, and uprooted wherever and whenever God calls you? I know that this is a difficult task, but I can guarantee you that living your life with a commitment to go where you are called results in blessing. If you need proof, just keep reading Abraham’s story; remembering that there is no timeline for the completion of your goals - because they just might be changed for the better anyway.