“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Heb. 11:8
A close walk with God will inevitably be hazardous at times. Hazardous to what we believe is best for us. Hazardous to where we believe we can best serve God. Being used by God sooner or later turns one’s world upside down. Just ask Abraham. Deeply rooted in affluence, dwelling comfortably in Ur of the Chaldees; his life would be sandblasted by the unsolicited call of God. So would Sarah’s. And they would never be the same. Which is unspeakably fortunate for us and millions of others, whose lives have been profoundly impacted by their radical response to God’s highly inconvenient calling upon their lives.
“And he went out, not knowing where he was going”. God does not provide mapquest for his saints so that they can be sure to understand the whole path of their pilgrimage here. Almost always He provides only one thing – the very next step. Not the next two steps. Not the next three steps. And like Abraham, He calls us to take the next step wholly blind as to the next step that will follow. Samuel Chadwick, the early Methodist preacher put it like this:
“We are moved by the act of God. Omniscience holds no conference. Infinite authority leaves no room for compromise. Eternal love offers no explanations. The Lord expects to be trusted. He disturbs us at will. Human arrangements are disregarded, family ties ignored, business claims put aside. We are never asked if it is convenient…”.
I think Abraham and Sarah would echo a hearty “amen” to that statement. So would David Livingstone, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, and a host of fragrant saints throughout the centuries who discovered first-hand a vital truth: Temporal convenience and eternal significance rarely go hand in hand. God’s best for our lives usually comes at a cost. Often a high one. But one which will pale in comparison to the supernatural joy and deep satisfaction of having taken God-ordained risks in a play-safe world. Just ask Abraham.
