The Lesson of Abraham:

Going Off into the Unknown

"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 ...' So Abram went, as the Lord had told him..." (Gen 12:1, 4 ESV)


I have always have been up for an adventure. Coming from an Army family, we moved quite a lot. My dad got orders. We packed up our stuff, and we went. At the time, the Army had a three year cycle. Routine as clockwork, after three years, we'd be moving again.

When I went out on my own, the pattern continued, but it was more of a five year cycle. It wasn't so much that I wanted to move, but after five years I found myself moving someplace new. The most dramatic was my move from Charleston, SC to Odessa, TX.

This one was a little different. I felt called to go to West Texas ... the desert. I felt a little like Abraham. Unlike with the Army, I had no guarantee of a job when I got there. In fact, the economy there was terrible at the time. But God was my general, and God said, "Go ..." and, like Abraham, I prospered.

With my move to Texas, I broke my moving cycle. I actually stayed there for over a decade, but just a few weeks ago, my General cut new orders. God said, "Go to Idaho." So, I got to explore a whole new section of the country in a U-Haul truck.

And now, I'm in a new land ... Idaho. Do I know what will happen? Will I prosper? Only time will tell. Abraham did not always prosper where he was told to go. Sometimes God had different work in mind for him. But I am here, and I am pleased to feel that I am where God wants me to be.

What has God been asking you to do?