“The LORD said to Abram: Go out from your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So Abram went.” –Genesis 12:1-4a

Jesus and Abraham. Abraham and Jesus. Or, I should say Abram and Jesus. These two have been on my mind a lot this week. Though they traversed this planet centuries apart, their stories and God’s plan for them are intricately connected, as only God can do. So, first Abram. Prior to Genesis 12, the mention we have of Abram is limited to a handful of verses from chapter 11, which details who Abram’s father was (Terah), his brothers, his cousin (Lot), and called his wife and sister-in-law by name, Sarai and Milcah. We are told clearly here that Sarai could not conceive. Abram’s dad took him and Sarai, and his cousin, and set out towards Canaan, but settled in Haran.

Enter Genesis 12, when God told Abram to go. To head out with all of his possessions and family and go to a land that God would show him. We have no indication of the relationship Abram had with God prior to this chapter. We just learn that God told Abram to go, and Abram went. Simple as that. Faith Triumph # 1. (God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 17.)

If I were Abraham, at this point, I most likely would have had some questions. There would not have been a verse that said, “So Dawn went.” No, my response would have sounded a bit more like this: “So Dawn hesitated, asked several follow-up questions with equally non-specific responses, slept on it for a few nights, prayed on it a few weeks, asked God again for more clarification, doubted that she had heard correctly, and ultimately decided to stay put and that it was all in her head.” Though God had followed His instruction to Abraham with the promise, the covenant of blessing, I would have entirely missed all of that, had it been me. I mean, go to a land that God would show me. Where exactly is that, and how does one identify when it is time to quite literally put down stakes in the ground, and declare, “Here it is!”?

Lucky for all of us, Abraham was a man who believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6 & Romans 4:3). God reiterated His covenant with Abraham a few times between Genesis 12 and 17, making it abundantly clear that the offspring of Abraham would be as countless as the stars, and all people on earth would be blessed through him. God made Abraham a promise so Abraham took Him at His word and believed Him. Yet, he didn’t trust God without messing up a few times along the way.

Enter Sarah. There was one little hiccup to that plan. In Genesis 11, remember, we are told that she was unable to conceive. How does Abraham become the father of many nations and have offspring as countless as the stars when his wife was unable to bear children? While Abraham was over there believing God’s promise, Sarah was doing the math and figuring there was no way that plan was coming to fruition through her. It seemed to her that perhaps God needed a little assistance in fulfilling His promises to Abraham, for she was certainly not getting any younger. Sarah swooped in and devised a plan to aid in producing this heir of Abraham. She looked at her servant and told her husband to produce an heir through Hagar. Now Abraham, being this great man of faith, clearly did not agree with taking these matters into his own hands, did he? Actually, he went right along with his wife’s plan and all sorts of drama ensued. (See Genesis 16 & 21). Faith Fail # 1: Abraham did not wait for God’s plan and timing.

Fast forward a few years, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham, and Sarah gave birth to a son named, Isaac. Isaac would have been the beloved child, the apple of their eye, when God tested Abraham in Genesis 22 and told him to take his son and offer him as a burnt offering. Every time I read this story, I am filled with a host of questions, but ultimately, I trust God’s sovereignty and His wisdom in this account. To summarize, Abraham believed that God Himself would provide the lamb for the burnt offering and told Isaac as much when Isaac asked his father where the lamb was. (I highly encourage taking the time to read this beautiful account of God’s provision.) Faith Triumph # 2: When God asked an impossible thing of Abraham, to sacrifice the heir to the promise, Abraham obeyed God. (Please note: there are several other incidents of Abraham and Sarah’s faith in God and also their failure to trust Him throughout Genesis 12-22, but I am only highlighting these few examples.)

When I consider Abraham, I long to have the faith that Abraham had. How do we become men and women who believe God and He credits it to us as righteousness? Do I believe God enough to go where and when He calls me? It is highly unlikely that God would call me to go in the exact same manner that He did for Abraham. Abraham’s response to God, though, challenges me to examine my own heart and life. While God may not tell me to pack up my home, load up my car, grab the dogs, and hit the road to an unknown destination, He does call me to follow Him. He calls me to love others, to be holy and set apart, to love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. He has gifted me in certain areas, and He calls me to cultivate those gifts and use them to benefit the body of Christ. He calls me to obey Him and His Word. He calls me to trust Him and believe His promises.

Often, when I grow restless or uncertain, I, like Sarah, feel compelled to assist God in bringing His plans to fruition. I am not content nor patient to wait and allow God to work it out according to His sovereign plan and will. I would rather help Him to do it my way or in the way that makes the most sense to me. But then again, what a blessing Abraham received when he followed God’s instruction to take his son, Isaac, and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham didn’t merely say he believed God; he lived it out with his actions. How it must have broken his heart on that three-day journey, wondering and questioning what God was doing. Though he did not understand how God would work it out, he believed that he and Isaac both would return from that trip. He believed God Himself would supply the sacrifice.

And oh, how God did. Not only did God supply the sacrifice for Isaac in that moment, but He also supplied the greatest sacrifice this world has ever known. Enter Jesus Christ. The ultimate fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. God told Abraham to go to a land He would show him, and Abraham went. God sent Jesus to earth, to this land, and Jesus came. While Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Jesus set aside His rights as the Son of God to descend as a man, and He Himself became that sacrifice in our place. Jesus also entrusted Himself to His Father and surrendered to the plan of God for the salvation of the world. God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.

Philippians 2:7-8 says, “Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death–even to death on a cross.” Abraham died never witnessing the promises fulfilled (Hebrews 11:13). Yet Abraham died in faith. Abraham believed God and obeyed God. Jesus was the promise. Jesus humbled Himself, and He obeyed God to the point of death on the cross. Faith, obedience, and humility all go hand-in-hand. To obey God requires faith. To have faith requires humility. To have humility requires both faith and obedience.

How can I obey God if I do not trust Him? To trust Him means I must humbly acknowledge that His sovereign way is far better than anything I could do on my own. I want to have faith that goes when God calls. I want to have the humility to entrust myself to His plan. God’s plan for salvation was not the easy road for Jesus. He walked in human flesh, though without sin. He endured physical pain beyond what we could imagine as He bled and died on the cross. Yet He rose again in ultimate victory over death so that He would indwell us through His Spirit and never be separated from us in eternity. I can withstand some uncertainty and discomfort in this life because I know that my Redeemer lives and even after my skin is destroyed, I will see God in my flesh (Job 19:25-26). He is worth it all. He is calling every single one of us to steps of obedience today. Follow Him.