Monday, October 20, 2008

The Call


The Call

Here it is a Monday morning! I guess I am a little out of my regular routine these days, since Wednesdays used to be my blog morning. But let me tell you why….

About 2 weeks ago, on a Friday morning, I wrote about Transition. Later that day, Scott called me to tell me he was laid off from his job. As things were slow, this was nothing unusual. He usually gets called back to work after a week or two at the most, so we didn’t think anything of it. He called in his unemployment claim, and we spent a few days at the ocean, enjoying the end of the summer.

The following Friday, he got a letter from his employer, saying finances were so bad, that Scott’s position had been eliminated. After 26 years in the same company, he is looking for a new job. Needless to say, we were a little shocked, but we know God has always provided and we’re trusting Him. We have no idea where this new adventure will take us….

I started thinking about Abraham and Sarah. They were happily settled in Haran, and then Abraham’s father died. Life as they knew it changed.

In Genesis 12, “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.” In verse 3, “So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed.”

Life as we have known it for 26 years has changed. Every morning, Scott got up and went off to work at the same job. It had its ups and downs, but you knew what to expect and it provided a steady income. We had hoped it would last us until next year, when, God willing, we make the last mortgage payment. But the job died, and God is saying “Leave what you know behind”. I don’t think it’s a location thing, I can’t see us moving, but I feel like it’s a new stage in our life. A new reliance on God.

Abram traveled for a while, and then God spoke to him saying “I will give this land to your descendants.” He built an altar there, then moved on, built another altar, worshipped and moved on again. “Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.”

Like Abram, we don’t always have the master plan for where we are going. God leads us in stages. He speaks, we worship, and we follow Him. He gives a promise. We worship, we trust, we follow Him.

For some reason, God’s promise to Abram would not come to pass in his comfort zone of Haran. God was giving him a land, and descendants, and a blessing. Abram had to travel out of what he knew, into what God had for him. He had to be obedient and go when God said LEAVE. He had to trust God one day at a time as he traveled on in faith.

So for now, Scott will put in applications, and look for work, one day at a time, and look for God’s guidance in the next step of our lives. Like Abram, we have God’s promise that He will bless us and make us a blessing. We embark on another great adventure in our walk of faith!

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