Intro:
Abraham (or, once known as Abram) was essentially the father of our faith. If you’ve been in church for pretty much any length of time, chances are you’ve heard his name mentioned before. He is the one God chose to build generation after generation off of. We are all descendants of him, and he was a man of great faith. But before he did all these awesome things, Abraham understood he had a calling from God. How did he identify his calling, and how did he fulfill it? This devotional is designed to do two things: 1) Take you through the story of Abraham’s calling from God and 2) Help you identify your own calling from God.
Day 1 (Genesis 12:1):
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”
We see here that God spoke to Abraham clearly about what he was to do. He wasn’t mysterious about it. He didn’t leave little clues for Abraham, hoping he would solve the riddle. He spoke directly to Abraham with exact instructions. Thank goodness Abraham was listening.
What would have happened if Abraham wasn’t listening? What if Abraham was closed off to God, because he was “too busy” or because he thought he had it all under control? Abraham was receptive and open to the Lord’s plans and will for his life. He was waiting in fact for His direction, which we will talk more about tomorrow.
It is so important for us to have an established relationship and communication with God in order for Him to reveal His will for us. When was the last time you just sat down and talked, really asked God for Him to reveal His plan for you? Were you really listening? A good way to experience that is to get in a quiet space where it’s just you and the presence of God. Open your heart and ask God what your calling is. Make yourself available to hear from Him.
Day 2 (Genesis 12:1):
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”
It’s Day 2 of this devotional, so you may be wondering why we are reading the same verse from yesterday. Well, there’s a lot to unpack here still. Let’s look at the wording of the Lord’s instructions. He told Abraham to “go from your country, your people and your father’s household”. Pause. God was asking Abraham to leave his home, his friends, the land he was comfortable in. That’s a little scary! Let’s keep going. God told Abraham to go to “the land I will show you.” “The land I will show you” isn’t exactly an exact GPS location Abraham could identify, so that meant Abraham was going to have to take all his friends and family with him to a land he couldn’t even name. They were all going to have to look to the Lord and lean on Him for guidance.
When God calls you to something, it will almost always 1) include a risk (like leaving your native country behind like Abraham did) and 2) ask you to lean on Him. It can be scary to do something out of your comfort zone. Maybe you can make a brief plan, but you will still have to depend on God to take you to where you are called to be. That can be scary, but God’s will is ultimately all worth it.
Day 3 (Genesis 12:2-3):
“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.[a] 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Here is where God was explaining all the gifts He would provide to Abraham and his family if he said yes to His calling. He promised Abraham Bless him and make his name great. He promised Abraham would be a blessing to those around him, and the Lord will bless those who he blessed. He promised to be on his side. Though his calling asked A lot of him, the Lord promised it would all be worth it.
God never asks something of us without promising something better in return. Our calling can be scary, risky, and ask a lot of us. But God promises to be on our side, Fight for us, and bless us. Our calling can be the biggest blessing in our lives, and it can be a blessing to others as well. God promises to love us and bless us, and His promises never return void.
Day 3 (Genesis 12:4-6):
4 “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.”
I love the first 9 words in verse 4. I love how it says that Abraham went as the Lord had told him. He was saying yes to God, yes to his calling. He understood the risks and the difficulties he would face. That didn't stop him from saying yes and beginning his journey. Later in verse five, it says he took his family and all of their possessions and all of their people with them. Can you imagine how he explained this to everyone that was relying on him for guidance? It would have been easy for Abraham to back out, in fear of judgment from others. But he said yes anyway.
Your “yes” matters when the Lord reveals your calling to you. It might be hard to do, especially if you fear judgment from others. Your calling will affect more than just you. It can be difficult to say “yes” when you aren’t sure how others will react. Think of everything you risk by saying “no”, though. You won’t be living up to your full potential. You won’t experience the greater things God has for you. In order to live out God’s plan for your life, you have to first say “yes”.
Day 4 (Genesis 4:7)
7 “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[c] I will give this land.”
Picture this: you’re seventy-five year old Abraham. You, your wife, all of your friends and family (and then some) have been traveling for a long time to an unknown destination. You’ve probably had to break up a few fights and call some nerves (maybe even some of your own). You're wandering and waiting for God to show up… and then He does. Can you imagine the joy and gratitude Abraham and his family felt when the Lord appeared? Sure, God had promised He would. But when we see God appear in our lives, it just brings something new out of us.
Yesterday we talked about God's promises, and all the things He said He would do. We can believe and have faith in theory, but to see what God can do through our true, living faith is a miracle in itself. This verse is an example of a time when God said He would do something, and He did. It may not be easy, but we really can always trust God to be faithful.
Day 5 (Genesis 12:7):
7 “So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”
They made it. After all the travel and probable tears, they reached the land God had promised them. What did Abraham do? The first thing Abraham did when he reached his destination was give glory to God. He designated a spot to remember the Lord’s faithfulness to him and his people.
Naturally, when we reach a goal or accomplish something, our first inclination is to think, “Woo-hoo! I did it!” That thought isn’t wrong, per se, but…did you really do it? How did you do it? Was it by your own strength and willpower? Probably not. You see, when we fulfill our calling, we have to remember that it was only through God that we made it. Only by leaning on Him did you reach your destination. Let's not forget to thank the One who made it all possible.
You did it! We are so proud of you! Be sure to follow Kyla on Instagram (@goldengalkyla)! But don't stop here. Keep going deep in pursuing God with this devotional on how to discover your TRUE IDENTITY!