"He also said to him, I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." (Genesis 15:7 NIV)
How far had Abram come along in his walk with the Lord by chapter 15? It’s remarkable, really. How far have you followed God to date? Is it any less remarkable?
How many miles stood between Ur and Hebron? But also, the entire side quest in Egypt? All on foot, to boot. Abram and his entire household traipsed across Canaan and its bordering lands far longer than his descendants would. The children of Israel spent forty years in the Negev. Abram spent a lifetime in tents.
I love how God speaks to Abram so plainly. “I am the Lord, who brought you…” this far. What a powerful reminder mid-life believers. We tend to pause in our forties for assessment. We look back with regrets and we look ahead with questions and all the while our loving, Soveright God is beside us. “I’ve brought you this far.”
A bend in the road during a San Antonio sunrise.
There’s so much implied in that sentence; where would we be apart from His mercy, protection and provision? We aren’t products of our own cleverness as suspected, but shining trophies of God’s grace. Our path hasn’t been haphazard or self-governed, each step has been upheld by the mercy of the Creator Sustainer. We haven’t arrived in Hebron by happenstance. This campsite is yet another scheduled stop on a sacred agenda. If this is true of our past, then we can rightly presume God’s continued sovereignty on our unfolding future, too.
Abram reminds us all: we need not know the plan. We must simply stay in intimacy with the Author. Our connection to the Father sustains us through every twist and turn life has to offer. (Believe me, I’ve experienced a bunch of them!) He is faithful and His steadfast nature is enough to counter our high-strung selves. So much of this journey is about learning to look back with gratitude and ahead with trust.
"You have made known to me the path of life: You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." (Psalm 16:11 NIV)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)
Lord, we look at the descendants of Abram in Egypt and we see that Your way often includes inconvenience, difficulty, and even oppression. Yet in all of that, You were telling a far larger story to the world. Help us trust You in the microcosm of our own life. Amen.