Genesis 12:1-9 (NIV)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “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. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 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. 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. 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. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
The business of life hides the meaningfulness of God’s purpose for us. Isn’t it strange how we putter around, thinking we have no time to get anything accomplished? If only there were 25 hours in the day instead of 24. Now that would make all the difference, right? One more hour to accomplish everything? Sure, it would. Not. Regardless, we still rush around. We cram as much into our day as we can. Too often, we hear ourselves saying, “I’ll sit and pray when I have more time. I’ll get to my Bible study as soon as I get a chance.”
God’s purpose gives us clarity in our lives. God calls us to a greater purpose. Sometimes, however, we’re too busy running around to get it. We don’t hear the call.
Abram is called by God when he’s 70 years old. God sends him to a land He’s going to show him. He doesn’t give him a destination or directions. God didn’t say, “Pack up all your stuff and go live somewhere else.” He tells Abram to “Go to the land I will show you.” Sometimes God gives us a purpose and asks us to trust Him. Consequently, Abram and Sarai had to trust God to lead them. Even though they didn’t know where they were going. They had to be faithful to God. When we do that, He will show us the way we should go in life. All we need to do is listen.
Photo by Shawn Reid on Unsplash
As a result of answering God’s call:
- We are blessed along the way. The spiritual growth we experience is remarkable. We start to focus on our blessings.
- We are God’s children, and that deserves celebration.
- Even during hard times, God helps us to see the blessings—to celebrate what is.
- We discover that we’re too blessed to be stressed.
- Why are we blessed? Looking at Abram, we see that when God blessed him, it became quite clear that God, not Abram, would be the one who accomplished all the things that He had promised Abram.
- Blessings in and of themselves have purpose. We’ve been blessed so that we may be a blessing to others.
- How do you use those blessings? When we’re faithful to God, His blessings pass on to others through us.
- Abram got to the land but kept going—going in stages. God promised Abram the land of Canaan. In return, Abram built an altar to God. Then Abram did the same thing when he went on to settle east of Bethel.
- Likewise, we journey in stages—as we follow Christ.
- At this stage in your life, how can you be a blessing?
- Every stage of life brings a different opportunity.
- God’s mission for us changes as we go through life.
- We see in our scripture that we can be a part of something greater than ourselves.
It all boils down to this:
God has a plan for us all. God’s plan is that He blesses us so that we will be a blessing to others. This is God’s intent for all Christians.
How will you respond to God’s calling?
Will you take your blessings and be a blessing to others?
When we take time to count our blessings, we realize we have more blessings than we need, and maybe we should take some of those blessings and bless others.
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
And that’s what I learned in Church……see ya next time!
