Trust God, Love People: A 5-Day Reading Planনমুনা

Stepping Into the Unknown

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3

Before God spoke of the promise, He gave Abram instructions to leave his country, relatives, and friends and go to a foreign land. I often skip over the details here. I skip straight to the promise of blessing upon Abram and his family and all the families of the earth. Abundant blessings. Yet, first, he had to leave. At seventy-five years old, Abram had to start over in a new place with a new name. He had to leave behind everything familiar.

As I read this, I wonder: Was he afraid? Did he question where God was leading him? Did Sarai, his wife, get frustrated as she packed up seventy-five years worth of belongings and kissed her relatives goodbye? Did they grieve what they were leaving, even as they looked forward to what was to come?

In my own life there have been times God has called me to walk forward into the unknown. About a decade ago, He asked me to say goodbye to a nonprofit my husband and I had worked years to build and walk in faith to begin a new project in a new place with new partners. As I tried to do so, I found myself clinging to the past with a white-knuckled grip. I hesitated. I questioned His call. I wondered if I misunderstood. I felt the pull to shrink back, to return to the familiar.

And, yet. He is a promise keeping God. When He showed the land to Abram, He promised to give it to his offspring and He is ever faithful. Years later, which for the Israelites likely felt like it was taking too long, not only did He fulfill that promise, but he “gave them rest on every side.” After all of the work, after all of the fear and the doubt and the exhaustion, He gave them rest.

In my life, after a decade of work on this new project God called me and my family to, we have seen His faithfulness in abundance. Our nonprofit work has been more fruitful and more impactful than we could have ever imagined at the start, not only for our partners over the sea, but also for our community and, most significantly, for our family. This work has taught my children about the heart of God and the importance of loving people in tangible ways.

Sometimes, He calls us to new places – scary, uncomfortable, unknown places. Yet, His promise remains true even today, even to you and me: “Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

I encourage you, dear reader: Don’t miss it. Don’t miss whatever it is God is calling you to. You may try to talk yourself into believing you didn’t hear God correctly. You will certainly start hearing lies from the enemy trying to distract you and throw you off course. Don’t pay attention to the noise. Lean in to the Holy Spirit and follow. Even if your knees are shaking and you’re grieving the life and the plans you thought you had so meticulously laid out. Especially then. Because, God’s plans are infinitely higher and grander and better than anything you or I could dream up on our own. Take Him at His word and step into the unknown.