Day 40. The Call to leave your Comfort Zone

Genesis 12. (CSB)

The LORD said to Abram:

Go from your land,

your relatives,

and your father’s house

to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make you into a great nation,

I will bless you,

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,

and all the peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.,

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him.

God initiates the redemption story of the world through the Abraham. Note what needs to be undone: the fall (Gen3), murder and strife among families (Gen 4), murder and abuse in society (Gen 5), misuse of power (Gen 5), the misuse of God's created purpose for humanity and for heaven (Gen 6), the loss of innocence and violence even against animals, the general desire of humanity to replace God with self, and the confusion of languages and general lack of community in our world. No small job for Abraham--and quite a grand objective for the God of creation.

Note how the story loves to list things in three. (The rhythm of three with repetition or listing often reflects the thoughts or plans of God in Jewish thought.)

Today, we focus on Gen 12:2. Three things Abram must leave--from general to focused

• Land--where you live, your culture, your language, your border security, your customs

• Relatives--your support system, your provision, your protection, your tribe, the people that always have your back, the voices your recognize, the security of extended family

• house--your past identity and your future promise and hope, your property, the place your were born, the place you will be buried, your possession

In the ancient world, you rarely traveled far from home. To accept a call to leave your home--never to return--puts you in direct conflict with the expectations and norms of the cultural that you grew up in.

BUT GOD was up to something radically new. BUT GOD lead the faithful out of the normal and into something greater. BUT GOD does not ask us to do things that the world would find normal or acceptable. He calls his people to do strange, God-sized things in order to bring redemption to the world and to transform the faithful.

And Abraham went. Ready for a new adventure. Ready to meet God in a new way. Ready to learn about himself. Ready to be changed.

PRAYER: Father, prepare our hearts for unusual sights and sounds. Father we are grateful for this calling to serve you on mission. Father, we are grateful for your provision and gifts that make this trip possible. Father, we release our fears of the unknown. Father, we release of fear of difficulty in travel and health concerns. Father, we release our fear of missing home and family while we are gone. Father, we ask that you would show us how to follow you in this moment. Speak to us in this moment of stillness. Prepare our hearts and minds for the journey that lays ahead.

Amen.