Just Say Yes!
What would happen if you surrendered to God's call on your life? What if you stopped saying "I'm not enough" or "I don't have enough to do what He is asking me to do”? What if you stopped saying... "I'm too old", "I'm too young", "I'm too little", "I'm too large", "I don't have a big enough platform" or "I'm afraid of the spotlight"? What would happen?... Maybe, God could use you! In Genesis 12:1-5, 7; 15:1-7, God called Abram to go to a place that He would show Him. God promised Abram that He would bless him and make him a blessing to all people. In response, Abram moved in faith, living a life surrendered to going wherever God called him to and doing whatever God called him to do. I pray that this week, that you would hear God's calling for your life and be surrendered to answering "Yes, Lord!".
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. ” (Genesis 12:1-3) Man’s continued rebellion and quest to be god unto himself, led to the building of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9). That act culminated in God confusing Man's language (thwarting their ability to communicate with one another) and scattering them all over the face of the earth. Subsequently, God called Abram to be the one through whom He would build a Godly nation and bring redemption through Christ. These verses are God’s call and promised blessing of Abram. God called Abram to an act that required Abram to trust in Him. Abram was told to leave his father’s household behind and go “to the land I will show you”. In conjunction with His call of Abram, God promised a blessing of provision, protection and increase. In addition to those things, God promised to also bless Abram to be a blessing to “all peoples on earth”. This promise would ultimately be fulfilled through the redeeming work of Christ. Whatever God has called you to, He has already prepared the way for it to be accomplished for His purpose.
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.
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. (Genesis 12:4-7) Abram was obedient to God’s calling on him. At 75 years of age, Abram uprooted his life. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and all of their possessions/people and journeyed from Harran to go to the land that God would show him. At 75 years of age, Abram started on a journey for which he had no roadmap...just the promises God had given him and the trust he had in God to direct him. And when Abram arrived In Canaan, God appeared to him with an additional promise. God promised him that his offspring would be given that land. God had promised Abram would be a great nation, have a great name, have great blessing on all people and that his offspring would be given a great land...at a time when he was 75 years old, childless, unknown and the land God promised was owned and occupied by other people! In the face of all of that, Abram built an altar right then and there to commemorate God appearing to him and to commemorate God’s promise to him. Faith praises God for what He promised you even before it is manifested in the physical realm! Do you really trust Him?
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward. ”
But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? ” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. ” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars —if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” (Genesis 15:1-7) When God called Abram, He promised provision and a future. He led Abram to a foreign land as a stranger, and with none of his father’s family around him. But God came to Abram in a vision and told him not to be afraid, He would be Abram's protection. And even as Abram's faith was faltering, God calmed Abram's fear regarding the fulfillment of His promise. In spite of the fact that Abram was old and didn't have any children yet, God showed Abram the stars in the sky and told him that his offspring would be like them...too numerous to count. Very importantly, scripture says that Abram "believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness." Paul would later point to this statement in scripture as proof that righteousness does not come to us from trying to follow the law, but through faith (see Romans 4:3, 13, 23-24). Faith is not the absence of fear and doubt, but affirming our belief that God can and God will…even in the presence of our doubts and fears.
What is God calling you to do? Do you trust Him enough to follow? I have been to some places and done some things that I never would have imagined, just because I followed God. I didn't do those things and walk in those places because I was fearless, but because I trusted God and followed Him in spite of my fears. God has purpose for all of our lives. Abram's purpose was to be the father of a Godly nation, through whom God would bring our Savior. Your purpose is different, but it is no less important in God's plan. But the first step in your unique journey with Him, is your surrender to follow wherever and whatever He is calling you to. That's what Abram and so many others in the bible did. And their stories of faith and victory continue to inspire generations to faith in the power and sovereignty of God. So when God calls you (even if you don’t know where He’s taking you), here's my advice ...Just say, yes Lord!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
Listen here to Brian Courtney Wilson singing “I’ll just say yes”
