You and I face the same decision as Abraham: Do we grimly strive after control over lives that are effectively uncontrollable, or do we surrender our lives to the God who promises, trusting God to provide all our needs?
The story of Abraham may be one of my favorites in the Bible. It is so easy to relate to Abraham – so easy to see myself in the midst of his story. As I read Abraham’s story in this chapter, I found myself saying, “Wait a minute – this is MY story.”
I am so humbled by the fact that God calls us, over and over, to go. God continually calls us out of our comfort zones. God calls us to risk something big, to reach out to the ones who need it most, to be vulnerable with one another, to be his partner in the work of creating. But God doesn’t stop with the act of calling. God knows we are scared. He knows we’d rather huddle up and stay in our own safe place than go out into the unknown. It’s precisely because he knows of our fear that he follows up the calling with a promise. God doesn’t leave us on our own. Instead, God promises to provide everything we need all along the way.
So sometimes we trust this promise and we go. We go into the unknown place that God calls us to and we trust that God will provide all that we need. And then we get scared, or maybe we feel bold, and we try to help God out a little. We don’t see the results we’d like to see right away and we think we can hurry up the process a tiny bit. And God has to remind us once again that he’s got it all under control.
This story is a big, long story. We, like Abraham, may not live to see the end results. But God has called us to be a part of the story and has promised us that no matter what, God is with us.
Thank you for your thoughts, Crystal. Your insghtful words here have further enriched my own study as I journey through the book.
So true, this:
“We, like Abraham, may not live to see the end results.”
I think that’s the hardest part of this for me. Most of the time I’m okay going where God calls me if I can see the good that comes out of it. But there are many times when I can’t see anything … and it feels like my work is useless … and then I have to remember that I am just one tiny piece in the bigger story…
I agree that letting go and truly trusting God without fully understanding the end result is probably one of the most challenging things that we do as Christians.
Being the father of a son with Type 1 Diabetes I’ve had to wrestle with this quite a bit. Sometimes I see glimpses of His Wisdom and Plan, other times I struggle… It’s never easy… that’s for certain!
I agree…. Crystal always has some really good insights to share on these kinds of projects!
So often I to have to remember the words of Paul when I’m having my pity parties and ‘oh, woe is me moments’ when I can’t see any immediate and visible results from anything that I undertake under God’s direction: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” It reminds me that there is only One who knows how things are going to turn out, and sometimes I have to remember that I may not see the results.
Your reflection is very similar to the sermon I heard yesterday. I wonder if God is trying to tell me something!
Adrianna – I don’t think I heard the sermon you did yesterday – so it must be a work of God that you’ve heard it twice in two days 😉
Nice… I love it when stuff like that happens! And this is a good word to be hearing over and over again!