Thursday, October 8, 2020 Some material taken from Roll With It by Keith Warren
This week we are looking at the lessons we can learn from Genesis 12:1-4. God has called Abram to leave his home and go out into the unknown. This required some big changes in his life. We have all been through some big changes this year, so let's take these lessons we have learned and see if we can apply them to our lives. The first two lessons are Don't be Discouraged and God Uses the Known to lead us in the Unknown. Today we will look at two more lessons that are helpful in times of change.
Don’t
Long For An Old Normal
There is no sense in this passage that once
they left Ur that they would ever go back there again. God called Abram to
current change for future blessing and relationship with Him. –
Keith Warren
Like
Abram, at times we will find ourselves on a path that God has led us to,
requiring us to leave something behind. It is hard to be obedient while we are looking
over our shoulder at what we left behind. This is a place we can really get
stuck if we are not careful. It is hard to leave things behind, but to move
forward we must. If God has a plan for us down the road, the blessing of
fulfillment will be so much greater than what we left behind. The pain is there
but we cannot let it cripple us. We can focus on the excitement of where we are
headed and what God is doing in our lives. He is always working, and even
though we may not see it, He makes a new way when a new way is needed. We can
trust Him that what is happening is for our best. Behold,
I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will
make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
It
is the age-old tug of war – we want change, but we don’t want to give up the old
ways. We want things to be different, but we don’t want to change. We do want
change, but we want it instantly. We do not want to do the work or go through
the process. In order for change to happen in our lives, we have to do things
differently and that usually means we have to give something up. This ties
right in with the next lesson we learn from this story – We can be made right
with God. Giving up parts of our past and changing is required for us to be
made right with God.
We
can be made right with God
This is the first time since the fall of
Adam & Eve, that God defines the relationship between God and man. It is
found a few verses later than our story in Genesis
15:5-6 - And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number
the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your
offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as
righteousness. Abram believed the promise God told him and he got
credit for that! God
understood Abram’s position. He had obeyed. He left and followed God’s instructions,
but still no children for he and Elizabeth. How was God going to fulfill this
promise he had made him if he and his wife could not have children? God didn’t
tell him anything else except that he would have more offspring than stars in
the sky. Abram didn’t even ask for details. He knew that God had all the
details. He just believed. Simple trust. Believe. Confess. Repent. That is what
is required for us to be made right with God too. Believe that Jesus is the Son
of God, that He died on the cross for our sins, and that we can have eternal
life through Him. Confess our sins and He will forgive us. Repent – turn and leave
behind our sinful ways. Change. It is the only change in your life that will happen
instantly. The minute you believe, you are saved. There is still a process
however – growing in your relationship with Him. New life.
