“The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country and your people. Leave your father’s family and go to the country that I will show you.’” … “Then he moved on toward the Negev, stopping for a time at several places on the way.” - Gen. 12:1, 9 (ERV)
Roots go down deeper than we think. Our familiarity with life, our routines, the things we have learned to expect and take as a given – take one of these out of the mix, and we can see how quickly we can be thrown off.
I recently gave up coffee for three weeks. I didn’t think it was that big or that spiritual of a sacrifice, and yet I sensed God’s call to give it up. Coffee has been something I depended on when I needed it – not something I drank every day, just when I wasn’t at my peak energy level. I thought taking it away and living without it would have been a piece of cake.
Turns out I was wrong. I was far more dependent on it than I realized.
Week One. Cue the indifferent, don’t-talk-to-me morning moods and the withdrawal headaches. Though they challenged me, I had kind of expected them, and so I managed to push through reasonably well. Then comes Week Two. Two weeks in to my caffeine-free life and work life seems to go down the tubes. Pipes actually. Frozen pipes that melted water and flooded our office. And dishwashers that wouldn’t work. And coffee machines that stopped running, leaving many of my coworkers uncaffeinated as well. Unexpected mandatory training sessions. Soon, I came face-to-face with my instant desire for a coffee to get me through the day, instead of an instant desire for the strength of God’s Word to give me what I needed.
How fast I was to long for something familiar! To seek out strength from a familiar source, in a familiar way. Our roots grow down deeper than we think.
It is no simple matter when God tells us to get up and leave something familiar.
Lifestyle or mindset, habit or addiction; people, place or thing. We have roots that need to be yanked up, bags to be packed, goodbye notes to write.
Even if you feel like it’s impossible to leave behind what God is calling you to leave behind, make the first step. Abram didn’t get a whole map of the entire journey, he was just called to leave. God calls us to do the same. Abram wasn’t the only one meant to live a life of faith. He serves as the template, we are the ones who can make the journey of faith our OWN today, if we choose to.
God is calling. New lands are beckoning and inviting us. Take the first steps towards obedience. Trust Him.
