“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out
to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance, and he went out, not
knowing where he was going.”
And Abraham got all his ducks in a row and went out. Nowhere is that written. Then I’ll go out; then I’ll move. Nope.
We don’t operate that way. Having
the ducks lined up would be proof; would be safety, would be easier. God doesn’t operate that way. Convinced of the call we’re moving forward.
“And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” It’s that step-by-step thing. God only gave Abraham enough information to
get him to move. There is a sense that
we are doing the right thing. The wife
grew up in that house. It’s her old
stomping ground. It’s alien territory to
me.
We’re moving in with my mother-in-law to provide her
support. We are moving west, from desert
to ocean, big house to shared house, wide open space to elbow-room, desert
quiet to city hustle, five restaurants to a million eateries.
Looking backward one can see the closed doors. There was the church small group that
wouldn’t materialize—though we talked to pastors and placed phone calls. An odd loosing of personal connections. There’s been a gentle severing of ties to all
but our closest of friends. One wonders
if doors closed for Abraham or if he just woke up one day and shut them
himself.
Though the call be from God the sweat required is ours. The
house has to be boxed; storage planned, some storage rented. We have to find jobs in the new
location. Then the actual move.
It can be overwhelming.
Did Abraham’s thoughts whirl in his head in the middle of the
night? Did hearing the call and knowing
the Caller make a difference? For Abraham,
it was still a step-by-step process. So
it is for me. “Sometimes I think of Abraham, how one star he saw had been lit
for me, He was a stranger in this land, and I am that, no less than he.” The same star and same God that created them is
the same God that led Abraham. The
not-knowing is unsettling. The following
is part of a grand adventure.
