Relationships

#1 Fan

The lengths people go for their favorite sports team are pretty amazing. People will wear cheese-shaped hats, paint their faces and chests, and sit out in all sorts of acclimate weather in order to watch grown men throw a ball. They’re passionate about their team doing well, and seemingly try to will them to victory through their cheering and devotion. The team’s loss is their loss. The team’s victory viewed as their own.

Perhaps even  more noteworthy than a fan’s devotion is the lack of of it in other areas of our lives. Jobs, commitments and even relationships are quickly discarded when the cease to deliver what we desire.  You don’t see a devoted sports fan calling it quits after a loss, a losing season, or a lifetime of losing. Not only do they remain steadfast, they keep cheering their team on.

Ideally, this same relentless encouragement that is demonstrated in stadiums across America, would be on display most prominently in our marriages. As a wife, I view one of my primary responsibilities as being my husband’s number one fan. I want to be the person that encourages him when everyone else is discouraging, rooting for him as he takes on the world. His losses are my losses; his victories celebrated as my own. This isn’t to say that I don’t give my spouse honest feedback, simply glossing over any issues that might need to be addressed, but it does mean that at the end of the day, he knows I’m cheering him on.

It also means that when I talk about him, I talk about him like a devoted fan raves about their favorite player. I tell of the many ways that he demonstrates his love. I talk about his impressive abilities to connect with people and make strangers feel like they belong. I extol his commitment to our God and the way he leads our family in seeking Him.

Because I’m his number one fan.

And not only is it a joy to cheer for him, it’s a privilege to be on his team.

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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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