“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” (Hebrews 11:8, AV)
In 1992 Steven Curtis Chapman introduced a song titled, “The Great Adventure.” The lyrics speak of the exciting adventure upon which God takes us when we come to true faith in Jesus. These lyrics speak volumes about this adventure with God.
“Saddle up your horses. We’ve got a trail to blaze. Through the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace. – Let’s follow our leader into the glorious unknown. This is a life like no other. This is the great adventure.”
In 2009, as we left from Savannah Georgia to answer God’s call to pastor a church in Portsmouth New Hampshire, these lyrics kept ringing in my head as we journeyed just over 1000 miles to this new ministry. We left with our home in Savannah still on the market to minister in a church that could only guarantee me six months unless something changed in their finances. Yet, in my heart, there was a certain confidence and excitement. Somehow, I knew God was going to work it out. I just had no idea how.
The author of Hebrews here speaks of Abraham’s faith as an example to his Jewish readers. He explains that Abraham by faith answered God’s call to go to an unknown place, the land of promise. He had no idea of what was in store for him, he had not seen the land. He went anyway, trusting God to fulfill His promises. (Gen 12:1-4a) You must put yourself in Abraham’s sandals for a second to comprehend the magnitude of this journey. Only one who had true faith would leave everything they knew and go according to the call to an unknown land like Abraham did.
God had promised Abraham three things. He would make Abraham a great nation, He would make his name great, and He would bless him. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He obeyed not to become righteous, but because of having true faith in God. Abraham did get to Canaan, but did not see the complete fulfillment of the promise. The nation and its occupation of Canaan would come by the descendants of his grandson, Jacob, centuries later.
Moreover, the author of Hebrews indicated that Abraham pursued a much greater place. It was a city that has “foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb 11:10, AV) He looked forward to the heavenly promise. He pursued the call of God. He followed God on the great and glorious adventure.
When Chris and I went on The Great Adventure to Portsmouth, we saw how God worked out that portion of the journey for us. We went there with the understanding that we would only have six-months unless something changed. Our God was faithful and He did change things as we served there for ten-years. Yet, I have come to realize that this was only part of The Great Adventure for us. It really is a life long adventure into the glorious unknown.
Every believer is on a Great Adventure with God. Sometimes we do not realize it, but when God calls a person to true faith, He leads them on a glorious journey. We should count ourselves blessed as this journey is ongoing in our lives and the destination is to experience the glory of Heaven.
Renewing the Heart 