Scripture to Read: Genesis 12:4-6
After hearing the call and command of God to Abram in the first three verses of Genesis 12, today we look at the response of Abram. As God told Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (v. 1), we see in today’s passage Abram obeyed that command. Verse 4 says it plainly, “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him.” It is important to realize this was not a small matter. To go from a place familiar to a foreign land and to do so at seventy-five years of age, packing up and taking along all possessions, was to take a step of faith. But Abram’s faith was not in his circumstances nor in his own wisdom. Abram’s faith was in the character and command of God. Remember, previous to the move Abram was not told where he and his family would go. He was only told by the LORD that He would show him. Yet, in the midst of an uncertain future, Abram lived by faith. Hebrews 11:8 tells us, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” The passage in Hebrews continues to describe the life of Abraham as a life of faith in God’s promise. That is what we see here in Genesis 12: a life of faith in God evidenced by obedience to God. The response of Abram should give us all pause to examine our lives and ask, “What are my actions saying about my belief in God’s Word and His commands?”
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about the relationship between faith in God and obedience to God?
2. How are you examining your life to see how what you do evidences what you believe in God’s Word?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!