The Story: Chapter 2 The Bible: Genesis 12-13
Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you.”
Genesis 12:4 So Abram left, just as the LORD had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.) And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possession they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they left for the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
The first step is faith.
There are so many small details in Abram’s story and I find more each time I read. Abram was 75 when he obeyed God’s command. He is told specifically what he is to leave behind, (e.g., homeland, relatives, father’s household perhaps indicates family heirlooms, servants and workers) but Abram is not given the final destination, just God’s assurance that he will know when he gets there. To me, that speaks of amazing faith. While one might argue that due to the longevity of the times, Abram was 75 but still comparatively young by the days’ standards; nevertheless it takes real courage to leave family and friends behind and strike off on a trip with an unknown destination.
The next step is obedience.
Genesis 12:9 Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev.
Genesis 13:5-6 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. But the land could not support them while they were living side by side. Because their possessions were so great, they were not able to live alongside one another.
Abram left, just as the LORD told him to do. Some translations use the word sojourn which means to stay for a while. We understand why such a huge caravan of people and animals would need to travel in stages; stopping for a while to rest and regain strength before striking off again. It is mind-boggling to imagine everything involved in setting up camp then taking it down over and over again. Most sources record the trip from Haran to Hebron taking some 450+ miles, and this does not include the 225-mile trek to Egypt and 225-mile trek back; all of this travel by foot, not tour bus. It was not an easy trip, but Abram was obedient.
The third step is completion.
Genesis 13:18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, and he built an altar to the LORD there.
How many times would the temptation to stop, give up, stay in one place invade Abram’s thoughts. Perhaps having to listen to the weariness of others in the caravan. Nevertheless, Abram continued to move forward until God gave clarity of the destination.
Genesis 13:14-15 …the LORD said to Abram, “Look from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west. I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants forever. … Get up and walk throughout the land, for I will give it to you.”
I stand humbly amazed at how little my LORD requires of me. The lesson I find in the story of Abram reminds me that it is not my own efforts, but God’s plan that is the most important. Even if the task is small; faith, obedience, and follow through to completion is all my Heavenly Father asks of me.
Today’s Prayer Suggestion: Ask for faith to obey in the small things and follow through to completion.
The devotional From Faith to Obedience to Completion appeared first on Write From My Heart at
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Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright © 1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
General format for WFMH devotionals will follow the pattern of chapters outlined in The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, M. Lucado & R. Frazee, Zondervan, 2005, 2008, 2011.
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