The tension of not knowing……….
By faith Abrahm 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.
Hebrews 11:8
Every change in our life is met with a certain amount of trepidation. We simply do not hold all the answers and we cannot control all the circumstances that inevitably occur. The one thing that is demanded of us is this stedfast confidence in what God has said. Abraham obeyed, by faith.
Every move David and I had to make in our lives began with a word from God that we chose to believe and obey and they always contained a ‘not knowing’.
By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out…. not knowing where he was going. They say the first step is the hardest and while that may be, it’s usually the continued walk into the unknown that causes most of us to trip up.
Peter’s step out of the boat and onto the water to meet Jesus was a successful for a few steps, at least until he was moved by the things surrounding him… the boisterous wind and waves. Boisterous speaks loudly!
We learn from Exodus that the children of Israel were led by God in a very specific way “lest the people changed their minds when they see war and return to Egypt”. There is tension that comes to us from the things seen. We could be tempted to change our minds.
We find the children of Israel again in a situation where they are mindful of the things they have left behind in Egypt and “In their hearts they turned to Egypt”. A longing for what is left behind will create a desire to return, especially if what we are seeing isn’t what we had expected. Remembrance of the foods in Egypt and a despising of the manna caused their strength to dry.
We all begin our journey with expectations. When those don’t align we begin to experience the tension of our own winds and waves. The questions we ponder are over our ability to hear the Lord correctly, or simply the building unbelief in our unkept heart and minds. Double minded folks are unstable in ALL their ways.
We are all familiar with the story of Lot’s wife. Lot, his wife and his two daughters, are “seized by the hand” and brought outside of the city. They are instructed not to look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Lot’s wife fails to obey and turns into a pillar of salt.
Jesus said in Luke 17 in regards to Lots wife, the one “who seeks to preserve his life will lose it”.
David and I have often said, had we known what it would cost (spirit, soul and body) to have moved to Canada, we would have never taken the first step. Fortunately God does not choose to communicate all He knows at the beginning. As Jesus said, I have many things to say that you can’t bear right now. Man is required to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Being called out and instructed to move forward, especially into the unknown, demands faith, trust and absolute confidence and commitment in and to the Lord.
So, how do we handle the tension that occurs as we move forward without looking back? Simple but not easy ~ we KEEP our eyes on Jesus. We behold him in every facet of worship and word. We let our mouths be filled with thanksgiving over who He is, what He has decreed and how He is working. We are EVER mindful of Him.
Having “never been this way before” demands our attention to be focused on the presence of the Lord, cp. Joshua 3:3-4. The ark before them showing the way they were to go and then they followed.
The one thing we CANNOT do is look back. Let’s consider the end of others who did and be mindful of what our heart holds and our eyes see. These examples are all written so we do not fall prey to the same error.
Paul had to forget and press. Jesus had to set his face to move forward into His purpose and we will find that we too must be willing to live in the times and seasons of going out, not knowing the way, simply finding our steps secured by Him.
He makes us walk on the high places and keeps our foot from stumbling.
Hebrews 11:8. By faith Abrahm 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.