Genesis 12:1-4a
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 make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
So Abram went…”
Ummmmm… Chris, this looks familiar. I think I’ve read this before. I have the strangest sense of Devo déjà vu.
You’re mostly right. After spending some time yesterday holding our uncertainty, it seems a part 2 is appropriate.
I’ll say it again in slightly stronger terms. Uncertainty is not the enemy of faith, despite what the colorful little Sunday workbook might suggest. Quite the opposite, I think. Uncertainty is the womb of faith. We find true humility through meeting God with our honest uncertainty. We only submit in the deepest places when we let go. It is only from our most authentic place, with all our questions and our doubts and every raised eyebrow that come with it, that we can truly obey whatever the call is on our lives.
These are not small asks. God is calling Abram out and away from everything he knows, that he has ever known, that he thought he would ever, ever know. His biggest concern to this point was having a son, biologically or through one of several versions of legal adoptions, so there was someone to carry on the family business. His biggest concern tomorrow is going to be somewhere between “Sarai, do you remember which donkey is carrying the toiletries?” and “Wait a second, where are we going again?” Or maybe it will be, “What did you mean when you said, ‘Whoever curses you…?’ What kind of curses are we talking about?”
Despite a story full of questions, assumptions, and doubts, Abram went. He packed it up and packed it out. This says a lot about him and it gives us something to take hold of, too. Questions don’t have to stop action. Doubts don’t have to paralyze us. Uncertainty doesn’t have to be a spiritual emergency break. We can take a step. We can pack a bag. We can respond faithfully even if we aren’t quite sure. Even if we can think of a million questions for tomorrow, we can take a step today. We can do that because God keeps His word. Because He knows what He’s asking and He knows what lays ahead. Because it’s His journey for us and it’s better because it’s blessed.
Reflect:
On the verses. On the ways you’ve seen God’s faithfulness come through your questions.
Journal:
On your relationship with doubt and uncertainty. On how God has responded to those.
Pray:
For courage to take the step you need to take today. Pray for the strength to obey and to trust God with whatever questions you have and will have.