Guided To The Blessings

As we all know, today is the first day of the year. Today marks the beginning of something new, today marks the beginning of new blessings and new hopes. Today is the day when many will attempt to accomplish the resolutions or determinations that they have made about their life. I say this because it is at this time of year when many have determined that this will be the year when they will lose weight. Many have determined that this will be the year when they will watch their spending. Many have determined that this will be the year when they will quit a vice. In reality the list of New Year resolutions can be quite extensive, and making resolutions that will impact positively the life of those that surround and love us is always something good. But as Christians our main resolution should be to do God’s will. Our main resolution should be to be attentive to the word of God, and ready to act upon it immediately. Let us turn now to the word of God to see an example of the rewards that exists when we act according to His will.

Genesis 12:1-4 - Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

Like I always say to better understand the message that God has for us today, it will be necessary to review a little bit of history. Therefore, let us examine the life Abram a little closer prior to arriving at this moment in time. Abram grew up in the city of Ur, and this city was one of the most important ones to the Chaldees. It was a very important city because they had great commerce with other cities and they also had a very extensive library. It was in this city where Abram received his education. Afterwards, the family decided to move to Canaan, however, upon reaching Haran, they decided to stop and live there. It was in the city of Haran that Abram received his inheritance after the death of his father Terah, as was the custom in those times. Everything that I have just told you is very well reflected in Genesis 11:31-32 when we read “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.” Why is it necessary that we know this? It is necessary that we know this because this small portion of history about the life of Abram lets us know his condition. It is necessary that we note that Abram at this point in life was very comfortable. Abram had very little if any, physical or material needs, but a great change was at hand. God had a purpose with his life. I think that by covering this brief moment of history in Abram’s life, we have all reached the same conclusion. I think that we can all conclude that when Abram though he was the most comfortable, when Abram thought that his life was complete, God called him to leave it all. God called him to leave his safety and comfort. These facts about Abram’s life more or less lead us to this point in history. They lead us to the verses that we will be studying today. Therefore, let us keep these facts in mind and continue with our study.

In the verses that we are studying today we read “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” Let me tell you that doing this was probably not an easy thing for Abram. I say this because in this point in time, Abram was not a young man. At this point in time Abram was seventy five years old, and the trip to Canaan would not be an easy one. It is important that we note Abram’s age because this fact illustrates two very significant things. Number one is that God can call us at any time, and number two is that God will call us to leave our comfort zone. Why do I say this? I say this because God could have called this man when he was a lot younger but this was not the case. God called him after seventy five years God called him after he was very well accustomed to what he had and Abram was accustomed to the comfort and the blessings that he enjoyed. Therefore; we can firmly say that when he was the most comfortable, God called him to abandon it all and to confront an arduous task, God called him to start anew.