The Call of God
The Biblical Patriarch Abraham is well known as a man of faith. He lived a big, audacious life. A casual look at Abe’s life clearly shows that he faced many challenges. The Bible account records times when he was successful and times when he failed. Abraham mastered many of the circumstances that came his way. He was a man who could be described as governing life, rather than letting life govern him. In light of all this, I want to explore how Abraham made it through the many difficulties that he faced. The often shared, simple answer is that Abraham walked by faith. Consider the words of Hebrews 11:8-10>> ”By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” As the writer of Hebrews gives us the statement that Abe walked by faith, these verses give some principles regarding what “walking by faith” entails. Principle #1—Walking by faith requires one to hear God’s call. Principle #2 — Walking by faith requires one to obey the call. Principle #3 — Walking by faith requires one to trust the one making the call.
Principle #1 (hearing the call) is seen in the Book of Genesis. God’s call is clearly explained in Genesis 12:1>> ”The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.'” In simple terms, God told Abraham to “get out.” God’s call to Abraham was not just a command to move from one location to another. While that happened, God was doing more. He was shaking up Abraham’s life. Throughout Abraham’s timeline of faithful living, there was a constant challenge regarding who or what Abraham would trust.
When Abraham left his homeland, he was leaving the only family he knew. It would seem that Abraham’s family was a bit of a big deal. His family had lived in that region of the world for a while and had accumulated wealth and (most likely) status. For God to tell Abraham to leave this behind would be a challenging situation. To have one’s life “shaken” like this is disturbing. One’s values are not easy to change. To give up the camaraderie of family, the familiarity of lifestyle, and the assurance that you have enough would have been a hard adjustment for Abraham.
We need to understand that every person is called the same way that Abraham was called. Perhaps you have not been asked to leave your homeland, but when you hear the “call of God,” your life is about to be shaken up. When you hear the call to “follow God,” you will be forced to evaluate your life and what is most important. It is at this crossroads that many people fall short. A crossroads moment might be a health crisis. The health crisis might be related to you or someone you deeply care about. Another crossroads moment might be related to a financial predicament. We could list many crossroads moments, and we know that they will inevitably happen.
We also need to understand that God is a God who seeks. He made us to have fellowship with Him. The problem is that we are distracted and seduced by things that are not good for us. Being made for one thing and then substituting something else never works properly. Just as fish were designed to live in water (not out of water), we have been designed to live with and for God. The call of God always leads us to ask: Why am I doing what I am doing? What is the meaning of life? Ultimately, the call of God will show that nothing this world has to offer will last. Nothing in this world has foundations. The only refuge and safe place we can find is in and with God.
What gives us the ability to have life-changing courage and to live free is to come to the radical and profound understanding that only God offers life. Real riches are only found in God. Lasting peace and security are only rooted in God. Everything is in flux without God. We all need to listen to and come to grips with the call of God. God calls us all. Do not ignore this call. Do not think that you can wait for a better time to respond to God’s call. Join me next week as we look at principle #2 of walking by faith. Keep looking up!