I read today about Abraham and the call he received from God in Genesis 12. Here’s what the text says:

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all people on earth
will be blessed through you.”
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him.

Abraham didn’t have a road map. He didn’t know where he was going. This was truly a journey of faith on his part. He was called to leave the comforts of civilization and security and family to sojourn in the wilderness as a nomad. By Ancient Near Eastern standards, we know Abraham was a man of great wealth, no doubt a man of status in his community. Yet, all the identifiers of his old way of life were left behind. Armed only with a promise, Abraham set out in faith for an unknown and unseen land.

This text simultaneously encourages and terrifies me. I know it’s the work of the Holy Spirit that I’m reading this text right now, in the midst of this week’s spiritual journey. But I’m buoyed by the powerful faith of men like Abraham. And we are all children of Abraham, as Paul says in Galatians. Those of us who profess faith in Jesus have similarly set out on a daunting journey. Just like Abraham, we abandon our old identifiers and embrace a new identity: we become new creations in Christ. We, too, walk by faith and not by sight.

And yet, no one ever said walking by faith would be easy. The journey to the land of promise was a long, arduous one for Abraham. Difficult times are all but promised to those who would follow Jesus (John 15). Men and women of faith are not immune to trying circumstances. Sunrise always seems the farthest away at night’s darkest hour. Yet, we know that sunrise is coming soon. And because sunrise is coming, we do all we know to do: we keep walking. For we do not walk alone. We walk together. We walk with God. I think that’s what faith is all about.

For those fellow sojourners on this walk of faith, we give thanks. You are part of our cloud of witnesses. Your prayers and thoughts sustain us at this hour.