“Stepping Out In Faith” Genesis 15: 1-6

 I was listening to a podcast this week about death that asserted that most people are not remembered more than three or four generations after their death. The stories aren’t passed down. Their legacy isn’t carried on in the way we would hope.

  But as I was listening to that particular program I was thinking about Abraham, or Abram as he is still known in this text. Abram who has been remembered countless generations. Abram who had more decendants than the stars. Abram, the father of nations. 

If different choices would have been made, if Abram would have possibly trusted God less, than the entire story may have been different. Abram and his wife Sarai were getting up in age and were still without a son. Perhaps they had even began looking around and wondering what would happen to their legacy, their possession, their family name, their story, after they were no longer alive. Yet, God intervened and came to these two people and said that they would not only have children, but would be the parents of generations. 

The only thing is that they needed to leave where they currently live and travel with God to a land that God would reveal to them. In other words, they had to step out in trust. 

The interesting part to me about Abram’s story is that he doesn’t always get it right. But we don’t talk about those parts of his story as much. He decided to try to fulfill the promise on God on his own, by having a child with Hagar. This was completely permissible under the law of the time, but it wasn’t what God had indicated nor intended. He also found himself in a foreign land, where he tried to pretend his wife was his sister in order to spare his life. In fact, he did it twice. 

Yes, Abram had blunders along the way, but he is still remembered as a man of faith. Which I find comforting, for don’t we make blunders along the way from time to time as well?

I think Abram’s story invites us to pray deeply around the question “do we really trust God?” When it looks like day after day or year after year, things aren’t going the way we would like, do we trust God. In the face of hard decisions, do we trust God. All too often I think we say that we trust God, and then we try to put on a good face for other people, but really we have deep doubts. Or worse, we say we trust God, all the while trying to make God’s will bend towards our way. 

In this potion of Abram’s story we see that God and Abram talk in a variety of ways. In this particular part of the timeline, its a vision. But generally, when God speaks, Abram listens. But after he listens, he asks a question. Is God’s vision to have his heir be through Eliezer. 

Sometimes we make our prayer life too small. We think its coming before God and us doing all the talking before we say “Amen.” But there’s actually a whole lot more listening than talking that happens when we come before God. And as Abram shows us, after we listen, its okay to ask questions. I think God would rather have us be honest then pretending that we have it all figured out, especially since God can see our true heart. If the model of faithfulness, Abram, had questions, then won’t we as well?

Abram knows his age. He knows that time is precious and there seems to be more behind him than ahead. So he can’t quite wrap his mind around what God is proposing. He tries to fit in into his human terms - thinking who he could pass everything down to, when God has something else planned entirely. God says, no, you are going to have your own child, your own son. That is the way I am choosing to work. 

When Abram still can’t wrap his mind around it, he gave him a visual to cling to, telling him to look up into the sky and see the stars. The uncountable number of stars. That is how many descendants you are going to have. 

Abram may still not understand it, but he now has a sign of the promise. Can you imagine being Abram, traveling to this place that God is going to show you. And when you are weary and exhausted, not knowing what’s next, you look up into the sky and you remember the words of God. You remember the promise.

When I am speaking to people who are starting their journey into ministry, I tell them that everything has a purpose. It may seem like lots of people are asking to hear their call story, to the point where they may get weary of telling it, but really its so that story is so deeply inside of them that they can bring it to mind, even on the most difficult of days. 

I don’t know what that reminder of the promises of God is for you. I would guess that many of us have different signs, different ways to remember and reaffirm the blessing of God in our lives. 

Abram has this great promise before him, a heir and more descendants than the stars, but as I mentioned before, that didn’t mean that he got it right all the time. See this promise of God to Abram, and the promises of God in our lives, they aren’t because we are good and deserving. Instead, they are a generous gift from God. The question is really, what are we going to do with them. 

Abram chose the path of obedience. Even when it didn’t make sense. Even when it was too big for his mind. And those times when Abram, this man of faith, didn’t know what came next, God in his mercy and grace kept coming back again and again and again to remind him of the promise.

I want to end this morning by taking time to pray. To ask God to remind you what promise is a part of your life that God wants you to claim. What call. What blessing. What direction God is calling you to go in faith. Let us pray and remember, my friend, who we are and whose we are…..