Mister Guts

Abram (Abraham) was born in Ur of the Chaldees but his father Terah took him and other relatives to Haran in Padan-Aram. After his father died, Abram heard from God (Genesis 12:1-3): “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Over 400 miles (644km) later he enters Canaan. There were no hospitals or police to call on if trouble arose–just God.

Much of today’s society would claim Abram needed psychiatric help for venturing to an unknown destination with no conveniences (no cell phone, radio, Internet, etc.) or security. Admittedly, this took guts. This is succinctly summed up in Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

His Call

“…when he was called to go out…”

Public domain image by Charles Foster from author’s collection, and edited by author

Polytheism flourished throughout the earth, even after God had sent the flood around nine generations before. Abram was one of the few willing to weed-out the mixed spiritual signals and tune-in to the One True God.

I described Abram’s experience in a message titled  “Encounter God” and explained it generally mirrored what those who surrender to Christ experience. In fact, the Greek word ekklesia used for the term “Church” essentially means in part “called out ones.” When one truly belongs to Christ, he grows in Him in such a way (2 Corinthians 5:17) that his values, goals, manner and everything about him is very much unlike the world, but conforms (Romans 12:1-2) to the Word of God. Anyone who abides in the holy Name of Christ does well to obey the admonition of 2 Corinthians 6:16-17, “… for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”

His Commitment

“…obeyed…”

We who claim Christ as Savior need to develop what someone once called “radical obedience,” obeying immediately without disputing with God. Grant it, there are times, especially for younger Christians, we need to take more time to discern whether or not we are hearing something from God or not, but those who have a measure of maturity in Christ reach the point where they just know — so they should just obey. And there is great opportunity for spiritual exercise when our own soul disagrees, but great reward when we deny ourselves and walk with meekness the path the Savior wants us to trod.

His Courage

“…and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

Compare that to what Christ states about those born-again (John 3:7-8): “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Because of the finished work of Christ, those filled with the Holy Spirit often have, in the least, some sense of what direction God is sending them in. However, those outside of Christ are often baffled at the activity (or what they might perceive as inactivity) of the child of God.

As noted above, it took great courage for Abram to step out. It still takes courage today, despite the fact that in many nations we do have, or are supposed to have, protective services and conveniences the ancients could only dream of. The true child of God knows the help of man can fail, and those trained in the Holy Spirit make prayer a priority ahead of dialing 9-1-1.

Aside from any major danger we may face, some are often plagued with the spirit of fear. When this is the case, we should ask God for added grace and draw even closer to Him.

Abram (Abraham), through God, attained an honorable record of a life of faith. I would be remiss not to tell you he was just like us who sometimes are fearful (Genesis 15:1) or fail in other ways (Genesis 12:10-13). However, because of his strong love for God expressed through trust, God worked through him to make him a man of faith, a fine example for us.

Notes:

This article will be part of my Bible GemLight series as Hiddenite003.

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