Hope

Going Back

And he [Abram] journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the LORD. – Genesis 13:3-4

Traveling is not one of my favorite things.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being at new and exciting places, but the process of actually getting there is what I could do without. Plane delays, sleep deprivation, and lugging baggage around aren’t on my list of “fun ways to spend my day” and traveling usually entails all these inconveniences.

However, my dislike for traveling would grow even further if I felt like all I was doing was going in circles, if in order to get to the place I was going, I had to come back to the place I had just left.

This is what happened to Abram, later to be called Abraham. As those familiar with the story know, God had called Abram on a journey promising to bring him to a land where his promised many descendants would have everything they need. Abram left everything that was familiar in order to embark on this journey. And yet once he set out, God brought him back to a place he had already been.

Could you imagine being a part of his traveling party?

You: Abram, haven’t we already been here?

Abram Yes

You: What are we doing back here?

Abram: I’m not sure, but this is where God led me.

That same feeling of uncertainty, and perhaps despair, are still felt by us today.

We believe God’s called us to something and yet we keep coming back to the place we’ve already been.

We’ve started out on our journey, yet don’t seem to be making progress.

We want to get to the destination, but God calls us to stop along the way.

And just like Abram, we may not know the reasons for these “delays;” we may not understand why we must leave what is known for an uncertain and seemingly futile journey.

However, if you look at the passage carefully, you’ll see that the place where God brought him, is the place where he had built an altar. God brought him to a place where there was a lasting memorial to what God had promised and how God had worked in Abram’s life. He brought him to a place that pointed Abram back to Him.

And so He does with us. He brings us to the place where He’s demonstrated His faithfulness, and shows us that we can trust Him, because He’s already proven His provision time and time again.

And then we are equipped for the rest of the journey. Our assurance in our God secure, we can continue to the place where He’s bringing us; to the place where He longs for us to be.

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Growth Hope

Abandoned

Working with college students you hear a lot of interesting things. After all, it’s a time in life where people are legally adults and yet are still often isolated from the harsh truths of the “real world.” As these students near graduation, those truths quickly become their reality. It’s a time for them to figure out how it is that they want to contribute, in what arena they will use their talents and gifts, and to set out to make that happen.

It’s not uncommon for students to get to this point and eschew what they perceive as the “easy route.” For example, they don’t want to go work in their parents’ business, because they want to make it on their own. However, these same individuals who revel in their self-proclaimed independence may have no issue using their parents’ connections to land the job they really want. While their words may say that their abandoning the comfort that their parents’ hard work has afforded them, their actions demonstrate that they have no trouble reverting back to it when the benefits are too tempting to pass up.

Similarly, we often face the same reticence to abandon our former ways when it comes to our relationship with Christ. We may find its easy to proclaim that we willing to give up everything for Him, and yet, when comfort calls, we often revert back to those temptations we hold dear. I may say to God that I’m willing to go to the ends of the Earth, and yet I’m unwilling to give Him my desires and dreams. My words may indicate a departure from my past, but my actions demonstrate otherwise.

However, as a great song by Hillsong United reminds us, is not just our stuff that we have to give up for the sake of Christ; we have to abandon everything – our very soul – for Him. We say that we want “Jesus to come live in our hearts” but in reality being a Christian means giving up our heart to Him.  There is no half-way. We can’t cling to ourselves and have Him. We must let go of it all.

And in His graciousness, He’s promised to reward those who do so. When, for His sake, we abandon all this life affords us, all the benefits of temptations and the comfort of living for ourselves, in the next life, the life that lasts for eternity, we will have all things.

It’s not easy. After all, we are all too familiar with what we know and desire; we know well the convenience of sin. And yet, it’s only in giving up what we claim as “ours” that we get that which really matters. It’s only in abandoning self that we get Him.

 

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