Weekly Devotional: Things Change

Genesis 12:1

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee”

Have you ever wondered what Abram was doing when God showed up? Maybe he woke up that morning and watched the sun rise, drinking in the beauty of the grey sky melting into a softer blue. Perhaps he went about his chores: feeding his cattle, helping his farm hands shear his sheep, or oversaw the harvesting of his father’s fields. It is likely that Abram was living a day like any other day when Jehovah God stepped in and changed everything.

The older we get, the less we like change. We take refuge in our daily rituals, because they give us a sense of security. It’s very easy to feel at home in this slowly decaying world around us. But God’s call to Abram teaches us that the people of God are not at home, but on a pilgrimage.

Has God showed up and changed something in your life this past year? Are you embittered that God allowed loved ones to depart, doors of opportunity to close, or resources to decrease? Are you feeling overwhelmed with the flurry of decisions facing you this year, wondering if God is worthy of your trust? No Christian can stay in one spot for too long without God moving him or her closer to the likeness of Christ. That involves change. May we respond to it like Abram in verse 5: “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.”