The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation and will bless you.  I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, those who curse you I will curse; all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.”  So, Abram left just as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him.

Out of a clear blue sky, God spoke to Abram.  I wonder what that felt like.  Did Abram think he was hearing voices?  You know, we have medications for people who hear voices.  Did he question himself, his sanity, his intelligence?  We don’t know all the answers.  The writer of Genesis simply wants us to know that Abram left his homeland, his family, and his father’s house and went to a land that God showed him.  However, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews (in the New Testament) sheds light on Abram’s response.  This writer simply says: “By faith, Abram …”.  And Paul tells us: “Abraham believed God  and …”.

Those who study people and cultures are to be admired.  People are complex beings.  The way we act and react is as varied as the sands on the beach.  And just when we think we can predict actions and reactions, freewill sticks its ugly head into the situation and we find that we don’t know as much about others and ourselves as we think we do.  Abraham is an example.  One day, Abraham is believing and following and the next, he is questioning, lying, and deceiving.  Yet, we admire Abraham because he believed God.  We admire Abraham because he is us, the way we wish to be and the way we know ourselves to be.

As a teenager, I was invited to attend a Church of God Tent Revival.  The invitation came from my best friend in high school, Keith Sellars.  That night was a high water mark in my life for that night for the first time that I remember, I called upon the Lord and surrendered my life to Him.  Soon thereafter, I began reading God’s Word along with other members of our youth group.  And I heard voices.  Well, a voice actually; it was the voice of God.  It called to me through the texts I read.  The voice called me to be more than I was, more than I dreamed of being – a preacher, a pastor.  I wish that I could boast and proclaim my faithful response.  Truth is … I didn’t believe God.  Those things that Abraham so willingly gave up, I did not!  Rather, I became more like the rebellious prophet Jonah who ran the other way.  During my later teens, I was anything but faithful to God, to His church, to His calling.  And even today, after I have “believed God,” after I have answered the call, my life – like Abraham’s – is littered with examples of unfaithfulness and distrust.

I still hear the voice; I still hear the call; I stand as one who is blessed by God beyond my ability to calculate!  It started with a single invitation and it continues today as I kneel in prayer and as I read and study God’s Word.  But what do I do with it?  Should I hear God’s voice and not trust it or should I hear God’s voice and ignore it, I am nothing!  It is only when I believe and … leave that my life becomes a demonstration of faithful response to God, a life well lived.  So, don’t give me meds!  Don’t think me odd!  I’m simply seeking to be obedient.