A Call to Adventure - Abraham

Well, most of us aren’t actually burned out. We’re bored.

We’re not over-burdened, we’re under-challenged. Our potential isn’t being incinerated, it’s going untapped.
- Art of Manliness (December 4, 2021)

I read a post on burnout in 2021 that gave me a perspective I had not yet considered.

What if I am not over-burdened, what if I am under-challenged?

What if I am bored because my potential is going untapped?

What if the answer is not more relaxation but rather a meaningful challenge?

Some of my happiest and most fulfilling experiences in life have not involved me sleeping in, having a lazy day, or spending time in front of a screen passively consuming media. Rather they have involved interactions with people, physical strain, creative work, and even “failures” associated with trying something big!

What if what you are feeling is not burnout from doing too much, but rather malaise from an uninteresting life. Being busy is easy, but it is not the same as being productive, and even being productive is not a sign or accomplishing meaningful work.

I have already written about the importance of prayer, Bible study, and relationships. In pursuing those values and activities I also believe in the importance of keeping it simple, being intentional, and making it meaningful. What if what you need is simple, intentional, meaningful work? I am not necessarily talking about changing careers but adding these dimensions to your work.

What if what you need is to embark on an adventure!? To step out of your comfort zone and tackle something that will cause you to grow for the benefit of those around you. Would you be willing to go on an adventure?

Go! (לֶךְ־לְךָ)

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
- Genesis 12:1 NKJV

Clear call, get out! לֶךְ־לְךָ (lech-lecha)

God had plans and promises for Abraham (God will change Abram’s name to Abraham [Genesis 17:5] so in this post, I’ll refer to him as Abraham), but it all began with a command, a call to an adventure! God told Abraham to leave his comfort zone, to let go of his social security, to leave his country and family behind, and to embark on a journey. A journey to where you ask? You will find out once you start your trip. Are you willing to go?

In the ancient world, much like in the modern world but even more so, your family was your social security. Your family was your safety net if you got sick or hurt, or were attacked, or lost your job, or your investment failed, or if someone was starting trouble. There was no police, no government program to care for you, if you didn’t have your family, you were on your own and that could mean death. That meant you have little to no margin of error in your plans and calculations. And by the way, how can you plan without details about the destination or the trajectory?

I don’t want to encourage anyone to be careless, but I also feel like we demand from God certainties we don’t get from anyone else. We want God to reveal His whole plan to us ahead of time before we commit. When you begin your college degree, do you know for certain you will get a job? When you get a job, do you know for certain how it’s going to pan out? When you get married, do you really know what it’s going to be like?

You never know right? Not completely. We make guesses, educated guesses, we try to get informed, we read, research, talk to people, pray, and make a decision. In Abraham’s case, the main point was to make sure he knew the source of the calling, and what was being asked of him. Abraham knew it was God calling him and the calling was clear, go out!

I have witnessed people make poor life choices and excusing it as a calling from God. I know God calls us, but we need to make sure we are familiar with God, His character, and His will for our lives. The best way to grow continually in this knowledge is to make time for the study of God’s word daily.

The promises

I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
- Genesis 12:2-3 NKJV

Sarah, Abraham’s wife was barren (Genesis 11:30 [God changed Sarai’s name to Sarah (Genesis 17:15) in this post I’ll refer to her as Sarah]) so the promise of making Abraham a great nation would take a great miracle. God also promises to take care of Abraham, to provide for him, to bless him, and to make his name great. It is interesting to note that in Genesis 11:4 people set up to make a name for themselves and God humbled them. This time God promises to make Abraham’s name great. I believe that true greatness comes from a willingness to faithfully embark on the adventure God has for us. Because as we are faithful to God we can call on Him to fulfill His side of the covenant/agreement. I find it comforting to be in God’s will because I prayerfully remind him of all the promises He made in the Bible.

My favorite part of this blessing and one that has shaped my prayer life is when God promises to make Abraham a blessing. Because of this, I have begun to ask God regularly to bless me and make me a blessing. I pray the same for my family members and for my church and for many that I have the privilege of praying with. I believe God desires to bless us and make us a blessing and this is something that I also desire. I really want to be a blessing in the lives of those around me, and I am only able to do that to the degree that God blesses me. I strongly believe that God wants to bless you and make you a blessing.

God promises not only to bless Abraham but also all who bless him. Abraham and everyone who helps him along his journey will receive blessings from God. Similarly, everyone who tries to harm Abraham will have to deal with his God. God will curse those who curse Abraham.

I believe that these blessings and curses were specific to Abraham but I also believe they are not limited to only Abraham. Just from personal observation, I have noticed generous people receiving blessings, and those who seek dishonest gain fail to find joy.

75 years old!

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as [b]the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
- Genesis 12:4-6 NKJV

If you’re reading this and thinking you are too old to embark on an adventure, I would like to remind you that Abraham was 75 when God called him. I love Abraham’s faith and dedication. God said “get out” (lech-lecha) and Abraham got out. Abraham just packed up and left at God’s command. I want to always be this willing to go wherever God calls me to go. It is by no means easy, I still can’t find a house I can afford in the area where I am currently living, but I know that God will provide. Because I know that God called me and my family to where we are now. The adventure is not supposed to be easy, it is supposed to be worth it!

Reminders

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
- Genesis 12:7-9 NKJV

As Abraham embarks on the journey, God gives him more revelations and promises of what God has in store for him. Abraham responds by building an altar to God which serves as a reminder and witness of what God is doing. An altar is also a place where sacrifice is made. Abraham offers sacrifices to God as a form of worship. Abraham sacrifices to the God who takes care of all his needs and promises to bless not only him but his descendants as well. Our journey with God is not only about us, but about everyone around us and generations to come. Those altars would remain as a reminder and testimony of Abraham’s faith and of his relationship with God for all who happen to come by it. I believe that when we talk about what God has done and is doing for us in our lives, as we sacrifice for God as an act of worship, we also set up reminders to ourselves, our children, and everyone around us about our relationship with our God and what God is like.

Challenges

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.
- Genesis 12:10 NKJV

Many of us probably expect life to be easy if we are doing God’s will. I know this not to be the case, but to be completely honest, on an emotional level, I am still surprised by the challenges I face even or especially when I find myself doing exactly what I believe God has called me to do. Imagine leaving everything to follow God just to have to deal with a famine! Where are God’s blessings? Did God not promise to provide? Where is He? How can God allow a famine to affect the life of his faithful servant? Until now Abraham had been doing what God called him to do. However, when faced with a severe famine Abraham takes matters into his own hands and flees to Egypt.

Reading the story, I recognize that Abraham moved without a direct order from God. However, it is difficult for me to fault him since I tend to do the same. I believe that Abraham’s mistake was to leave the land of Cannan. God does not micromanage our lives and I believe that many times there are multiple correct answers when it comes to where you should live and work, though God is clear on how you should live and work. I believe it would be fine for Abraham to move about in the land of Canaan, and the problem came when he left the land God had called him to and went down to Egypt.

More Challenges

And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
- Genesis 12:11-13 NKJV

I wonder if Abraham began to doubt God’s presence and providence. Abraham feels the need to lie in order to protect himself. I believe that the biggest challenge of walking away from what God called me to do is trying to take of things by myself. If God could not be trusted to provide for Abraham in the land of Canaan during the famine, could God be trusted to protect Abraham from the Egyptians? How would Abraham defend himself from the mighty Egyptians? He decided to lie, sacrifice his wife and marriage and threaten God’s promised blessings, especially the one about making Abraham a great nation, at least from this wife. Or maybe Abraham thought God’s plans did not include his spouse?

Beautiful

Genesis 12:4 states that Abraham is 75 years old. In Genesis 17:17 we read that Abraham is 100 and Sarah is 90. If Sarah is 10years younger than Abraham she had to be at least 65 and is likely older. I like the idea of a woman reaching her prime at 65! Turns out Abrahm’’s fears were well-founded, at least regarding the possibility of powerful men desiring his wife.

So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
- Genesis 12:14-16 NKJV

Imagine how Sarah must have felt, taken from her husband to Pharaoh’s house, and not only that, watching her husband grow even more wealthy from it. Also, if I was writing the history of a patriarch of faith, I might be tempted to skip the story about that one time he was too scared to claim his wife because she was too beautiful. The fact that Abraham gained wealth from this makes it even worse because it makes it seem like it was a good idea! The argument could be made that if it really was against God’s will then surely it would not have worked out so well right? This sad and embarrassing episode in the life of Abraham also demonstrates he probably did not have a very high regard for his marriage or his wife, at least not when compared to self-preservation. But does Abraham’s behavior reflect God’s view of marriage or the value of women?

But the LORD

When I am reading a story and things seem hopeless I love coming across the phrase, “But the LORD…” because God does not simply idly watch human history unfold, God gets involved in our lives.

But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.
- Genesis 12:17-20 NKJV

Abraham might have placed little value in his marriage and his wife, but God valued Sarah so much he intervened and plagued the mighty Pharaoh and his house because of Sarah. The Bible does not tell us how Pharaoh found the truth about Abraham and Sarah but I know that God had a hand in it. Pharaoh now becomes upset with Abraham and reprimands him. How embarrassing for Abraham, God’s servant, to receive a lecture about the importance of honesty and the value of marriage from a pagan king. Abraham and Sarah and their household are then deported from Egypt. God, in His mercy, not only protected Abraham and Sarah but also made them wealthy. Obviously, their success was unmerited and only by God’s grace. Here is a clear example of salvation by grace in the heart of the Old Testament.

Lessons Learned

Though this is a story about the life of Abraham, I believe this story reveals general insights regarding God’s character and His ways of dealing with His followers.

• I believe that God calls all of us to trust Him and to step out of our comfort zone for the sake of the mission.

• I believe that God blesses us as we faithfully follow His calling.

• I believe that God blesses us in order to make us a blessing, and we experience these blessings (especially) when we are involved in the mission/adventure.

• I believe that the mission/adventure will involve hardships and challenges.

• I believe that God is merciful and patient with us when we are scared and when we mess up He does not give up on us.

With this in mind, are you willing to go on an adventure with God?

What is God calling you to do?

Maybe you are already on that adventure, but you’re experiencing more challenges than you had expected, are you willing to remain faithful and see God’s deliverance in due time?

I do not have all the answers. I know that giving up is not an option. The mission does not have to be complicated, it often is very simple, though the implementation may not always be obvious or straightforward. You can pivot and shift as necessary, but never give up. Growth and blessings await you, but they come with the adventure, and you will miss out if you simply sit in your comfort zone.

If you simply walk into church listen to the service and go home, you are missing out on the adventure God has for you. The Adventure is not easy, but it is worth it. God is calling you to live a simple, intentional, and meaningful life. Not an existence of fear, timidity, and restlessness, but a challenging life that brings about good for those who are hurting.

Fill in the blanks

I believe God is calling me to__________________________________

The first step I will take in that direction this week is _______________