Wednesday, December 16, 2009

What If?


What If?

I woke up this morning thinking about Abraham and Sarah, and all the life altering changes God called them to make. Here they were, living this comfortable life, surrounded by family, with servants and riches and a respected place in their community, later on in years, and God speaks to Abraham. “Get up and go, leave everything you know, and go somewhere. I’m not telling you where, just pack and go, and I’ll lead you.”

What if Abraham said no? Where would we be today? And Sarah, can you imagine how hard it would be if your husband came home and said, “Get packing honey, God told me…” Would it be hard to trust your husband, to trust God to make that move? To leave all you have ever known? What if Sarah said no? How hard was it, to believe God’s promise, and launch out into the unknown?

What if, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, the son of promise, the child he had longed for, worked for, loved and cared for, what if Abraham had said no? Where would we be? Would God have been able to send Jesus? Would we even be here, the church in our day?

What if Mary had said no? Think of her shame, in the eyes of man, at bearing a child while she was unmarried. What if Jesus had said no, to coming to earth, to dying on the cross, to giving His all for us?

Throughout the years, God has asked the question, “Do you love me more than these?” These things, these people, these places, these plans you have for your life, yes, even your own reputation, your own life, your own family? Are we willing to follow Him, even in the hard things, even in the things we don’t understand, because He is asking us to, because we trust Him?

When Abraham and Sarah said yes, God birthed a nation. He gave them lands, a family, a future, a place of destiny, and an impact on millions of people yet unborn. By their obedience, God would populate heaven. By Mary’s obedience, by Jesus, by the disciples, by the words, “Yes Father”, the course of world history was changed.

Can we be like Abraham and leave our comfort zone? Can we be like Peter, and risk stepping out of the boat? Can we be willing to give up our Isaac, trusting God and loving Him more than our plans, our hopes, our dreams, our programs, and our creations? Is it possible to follow Him when He is pushing us out of the nest and teaching us to fly, when everything in us is screaming “No, I’m falling, it’s too dangerous, I don’t understand, ahhhhhhhhh!” and He is saying “I’ll bear you up on eagles’ wings and teach you to soar on the high places.” Can we trust Him even when we don’t understand the WHY and know it’s all part of His plan to bring us to an expected end?

What if we said yes?