In They Came

 

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ave you ever had the following experience during your devotional time?  You open your Bible, turn to a familiar passage of scripture and there, right in the middle of the verse, you see something you’ve never ever noticed before.  You wonder how it got there and why it never grabbed your attention.  You even check other copies of the Scriptures just to make sure you’re reading things correctly. 

 

I recently had one of these experiences during a re-reading of Genesis 12.  This chapter tells the story of Abraham and his response to God’s call to set out for a land unknown to him.  Abraham obeyed, packed up his belongings, gathered his family, and set out across the desert, not following a map but following God’s direction.  Ever since, people have looked to Abraham as the prime example of living faith.  In fact, Abraham and faith are almost synonymous.  Eight words from verse 5 jumped off the page at me.  Contained within them I found such wonderful words of reassurance and encouragement that I want to share them with you today.    

 

In Genesis 12:5 we find these words, “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.”  I want you to pay close attention to the last eight words of this passage. 

 

These few words tell us about Abraham’s faithfulness to God’s call.  The passage tells us not only that Abraham left Haran, his homeland, but that he came into the land of Canaan, the Promised Land.  Abraham’s faith and his trust in God were complete and based upon that faith and trust, he left everything behind to find what God had in store for him. 

 

Abraham did not know every detail surrounding this call.  God did not explain to him nor describe to him the kind of life he would find in his new home.  In fact, God did not tell Abraham where he was going; only that He would show him the land that would belong to his descendants.  So Abraham walked, with no written guarantees, with no explanations of what the road ahead held for him, and with no other promise than God’s word that He would be with Abraham and provide for him. 

  

So Abraham came into the land of Canaan and once there he set up his tents.  For the rest of his life, Abraham lived in the land but owned none of it.  He had no permanent home, pitching his tents in different locations as he moved from one place to another.  But everywhere he went, Abraham built altars and gave thanks to God for His promises, for His provision, and for His faithfulness.  The only part of the land Abraham purchased was the cave of Machpelah, where he buried Sarah.  

 

And how can we apply this to our lives today?  What can we learn from these few words in Genesis to encourage us in our walk with the Lord?  We can learn the same lesson Abraham learned so many years ago.  Our responsibility is to obey the Lord’s calling in our lives, even when we don’t know where we are going and we cannot see the road ahead.  We must come into the land God has promised and we must live in His provision if we are ever to experience fully all the wonderful blessings He has in store for us.  He will provide for all our needs; He will never leave us; and He will always go before us making a way where there seems to be no way at all. 

 

This was the lesson Abraham learned.  God still calls us to walk by faith, to trust Him, and to obey His word.  It is not enough to begin the journey; we must faithfully see it through to the end.  Have you come into the land of Canaan today?  Are you living in God’s provision on a daily basis, resting in the knowledge that He will care for you?