Day 1 of 5 — Pioneering Faith. About 3 minutes.
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Genesis 12:1
Labor Day, and the house is quiet a little longer than usual. School started back last month, the lunch bags are already worn, and the routine has settled in. There is comfort in a settled routine. In 1843 about a thousand people gathered at Independence, Missouri, and pointed their wagons west. They could not start the journey and stay in Independence at the same time. Genesis 12 opens the same way.
The first thing God said to Abram was not what he would gain. It was what he had to leave. Notice how personal the words are. Thy country. Thy kindred. Thy father’s house. Then the destination, and it is only half given: unto a land that I will shew thee. God gave enough light for the next step. He did not give enough to remove the need for faith.
We like details before we move. Where, when, how long, what it costs, what happens if it does not work. Most of us are not refusing God outright. We are waiting for more information than He has given. Meanwhile the thing He made clear last spring is still sitting there. The class we never signed up for. The apology we never made. The person we never told about Christ.
A pioneering faith is not faith in the unknown. It is faith in a God who already knows what is ahead. He is not asking you to see the whole road this morning. He is asking you to take the step He has already made plain. Before this Labor Day is over, name that step out loud to God. You know what it is.
Growth principle: God gives enough light for the next step, never enough to remove the need for faith.
Take it with you: Write down the one next step God has already made clear to you, and tell Him today that you will take it.
Pause and pray: Lord, You know what I have been avoiding. I am not waiting on more information. I am waiting on my own willingness. Make me willing today, and give me courage to take the step You have shown. Amen.
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