The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you." Genesis 12:1
What comes to your mind when you imagine the verse above? Many times in church we read that verse, or verses like it, about "The Promised Land," and we start to symbolize and spiritualize it. We start to think about our "promised land." But we don't realize that for Abram, this was a literal historical event. Abram had a real country, and he was part of a real people. He had a real father, and was part of a real household. And the real God told him to leave all of this and go to a land He would show Abram. In other words, Abram had to really leave where he lived and go to a completely unknown land.
Now imagine the real God comes to you, to your real home, and tells you to leave and go somewhere that "He will show you." I'll do it for you. Now I'm supposed to give a months notice before I leave my apartment, but God is telling me to leave now. I haven't packed or planned. I haven't given my two weeks notice at my job. I don't know where God is telling me to go yet, so I don't know how much gas I'm going to need. All I know is that the Creator of heaven and earth is telling me to leave where I am and go where I don't know. And this is real. This isn't just a nice Sunday School lesson where I make up a symbolic or spiritualized application. God is telling me to leave my real house. And He could do the same thing with you.
In fact, He probably already has, or is about to.
Every new phase in your life is a very real time of God leading you into that new phase. Sometimes He may lead you gradually and according to the natural scheme of things, like giving a two week notice to your job, or a month notice before you move out of your apartment or house. But sometimes God by passes the natural order of things and tells you to simply follow Him, like Jesus did with His apostles. Peter, Andrew, James, and John simply got up and left their fishing businesses. No two weeks notices. No plan. They just left. And this was not a Sunday School Story for them.
The reality of the Bible stories in your life is that God is still the same God who requires real acts of faith and obedience from us today.
God may say to you what He said to Abram. Jesus may simply say, "Follow Me," and if you hesitate, He will consider you unworthy to be called His disciple. Commit right now to see Bible stories as real, historical, literal. Don't symbolize or spiritualize them. They really happened, and are still happening, because God is real in your life.
If you agree with the prayer below, pray it with me:
"God of Abram, Lord Jesus who calls me to follow You, I acknowledge you as real. All that has happened in the Bible is real. Not just symbols. You are my God just as You were Abram's God, and You have the authority to command me to leave where I am and go wherever You say. Lord Jesus, You can command me to leave my job and life just as You did with the apostles. I give my life to You to literally do whatever You want me to, and to go wherever You want me to go. Amen."
Now get ready!
You may be leaving today.
No comments:
Post a Comment