ODJ: faith to follow

June 8, 2015 

READ: Genesis 12:1-9 

Leave your native country, your relatives . . . and go to the land that I will show you (v.1).

Students at a university watched as a mother duck waddled over a cement wall and landed one metre below. For her, it was nothing special. But for the yellow-feathered babies following her, it was an inconceivable feat. The ducklings peeped and milled around on the ledge above their mother. Finally one little duck jumped, landed on his side and rolled to his feet. He chose to follow his mother, and his leap led to his siblings doing the same thing. Soon they all bounded from the ledge and trailed behind their mother as they continued their journey.

Abraham exited the land of Haran where he’d been living with his father’s family, for God told him, “Leave your native country, your relatives . . . and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). As an incentive, God promised that Abraham would be famous—that he would found an important nation and that “all the families on earth [would] be blessed through [him]” (v.3).

To experience these good things, Abraham had to have enough faith to follow God into unknown territory. “He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents” (Hebrews 11:8-9). Faith in God motivated Abraham to move, and it enabled him to exist in an unfamiliar place.

According to Abraham’s example, stepping out in faith is often uncomfortable. It requires us to let go of our own logic at times—to give up the security of knowing what comes next. Yet the Bible tells us, “Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm” (2 Chronicles 20:20). Our faithful God gives us the faith we need to follow Him!

—Jennifer Benson Schuldt

365-day-plan: Luke 1:57-80

MORE
Read James 1:2-4 to see one result of faith in our lives. Refer to 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 to see how our faith can affect other believers. 
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