Have you traveled to a different country? Have you been the one who stands out as the foreigner? Have you been the one who could not understand the language? Did you go because you wanted to go? Or did you go because you were told to go?
Going to a different country can be a little scary. If the country is a friendly country to your own, it may be a little less scary. But if you do not know the language, you can still experience some difficulties and embarrassing moments in your attempts to get where you planned to go.
On the other hand, there is a lot of international travel in our world today. Perhaps not quite as much as a few years ago, but it is fast approaching those numbers again. So, it may be a little more challenging for us to put ourselves in the shoes of Abraham (Abram) when he is told by God to pick up and leave his homeland.
We know of people who go live in another country for several years. I have lived in another country for a total of four years myself. But I can honestly say, I did not feel like Abraham. I was going with hundreds of my fellow countrymen and knew I would not be solely on my own. Abraham was going to be going it alone, with the exception of his wife and a handful of servants. He was the leader. He had to make the decisions. He had to find grasslands to feed his flock and food for his traveling party.
Abraham put his faith in God. He trusted God when he told him he would become a great nation. Yet, Abraham also had to know that would not happen overnight. And imagine what Sarah (Sarai) might have thought when her husband came to tell her that God told him to move to a different country. She might have thought the sun had gotten to him and he had lost his mind. Yet, today, we point to Abraham’s faith, and we should include Sarah’s faith, as an example of following God’s plan rather than their own. They are a good example for us to follow.
I pray we all put our faith in God and his plan. I pray we go where God calls us to go. I pray each one of us decide to seek God’s plan for our lives and follow it wherever it may lead and do what he calls us to do. Put your faith in God. Seek God’s plan for you. God where God calls you to go. Do what God calls you to do.
Genesis 12:1-2 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
Marty Pressey 