The Next Move
1. Now the Lord had said to Abram, “Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.”
2. “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.”
3. “And I will bless those that bless you, and curse him that curses you, and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
4. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken to him…
Genesis 12:1-4
The Enemies of Progress
As we face this new year, each of us has a certain level of excitement as well anxiety. We have been through a lot as families, individuals, and churches. We have attempted to make sense of all the chaos and confusion that invaded our world with the pandemic, the economic crash, and the social upheavals. A timely question on everyone’s mind is “where do we go from here?” “What’s our next move?”
Regardless of what you’ve been through, you are now forced to look ahead and select a course of action. Failure to do so could result in loss of opportunities and even loss of life. What will be your next move?
This exciting passage in Genesis records God’s conversation with a man by the name of Abram, obscure, unknown, and old. As we observe both his faithfulness and his determination, we too can learn a few points about our next move. First, age must never be an excuse to not make a move. Age, actually, can be a blessing. Second, you don’t have to know where you are going before you make the move. Third, and probably the most important lesson: learn to deal with the enemy of procrastination or you may never move. Another factor that Abram did not deal with but this may impact our move: it’s the money factor. So, lack of money, lack of time, lack of information, lack of status, and not being ready can all be deterrents to our next move if we permit them.
Consider again, the patriarch Abram. God Almighty spoke to him while he was still in his native land. Were there no other younger, more promising candidates than this seventy-five-year-old and his elderly wife? Why didn’t God extend the promise to Lot? After all, they were from the same blood line, right? That is not how God’s Promises and Calling works. His gifts and callings are without repentance (are irrevocable). CSB version of Romans 11:29. God was not about to change anything concerning Abram, and yet, it was up to Abram to decide the next move.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you … And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing … “And I will bless those that bless you, and curse him that curses you, and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken to him… Great move!
In some machine shops, the machinist will spend a great deal of time studying raw materials to make sure that they meet the specifications of the drawing. The materials may not look that great. The materials may actually be filthy, but as long as there are no structural flaws in the goods, the machinist places some marks on them indicating “what they shall be.” When God spoke to Abram, it was to inform him that he had been specially selected by God to fulfill a promise. While Abram may not have looked the part; he may have not felt the part; nor had any definite plans; God gave the message and Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him. Abram had been marked with a Irrevocable Promise from God.
Our calling and gifts from God may not be as dramatic as Abram, but we can be for certain that it is critical for us to respond as Abram did. Were there doubts in Abram’s mind? Probably, but that did not stop him from moving forward. Would there be dangers along the way? More than likely, but that too could not stop the response of faith. We see a wonderful picture of faith and trust. Later, when it says that “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness,” Abram could be seen as fully committed to God’s plan and purpose. Abram’s move was not about finding his own path or finding his own success or purpose; it was about moving according to God’s plan. We can follow Abram’s life and see that his faith was applied at every juncture in life and it resulted into some smart spiritual moves.
Smart Spiritual Moves
The first spiritual move is that of responding to God’s Word. Now the Lord had said to Abram, “Get out of your country, and from your kindred…” God was challenging Abram to leave the familiar, to leave the known way of life, and to leave the family ties that would have bound him spiritually. How could Abram turn all of that down? He listened to God and then responded with understanding to God’s challenge. Responding is more than going along with something. Responding to God’s Word means having something extra, it’s called persistence. It is the internal fortitude that keeps the faithful from giving up when the going gets tough.
The founder of McDonald’s – Ray Kroc said, nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common that unsuccessful men with great talent… Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb … education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts … Persistence, determination alone are omnipotent. The energy of Abram’s persistence was tied directly to God’s Word. In his heart, Abram knew that God would never fail and more importantly, would never fail him.
Do a check up of your own life. How have you responded to God’s Word? While you may think that is a strange question, it is really not. God has called ever one of His children to action in Christ. “Come and follow Me,” Jesus said.
There’s something else that we notice about Abraham, he reached out to God through worship. Journeying through the land of Canaan was one thing, but Abram decided to “build altars to the Lord and to call upon the Name of the Lord.” His love for God was expressed through worship. His fellowship with God was expressed through worship. While Abram had a few challenges in his faith journey, he never lost sight of who God was in his life.
Gospel Artist Vashan Mitchell has an incredible song titled, My Worship is For Real. You don’t know my story, All the things that I’ve been through. You can’t feel my pain, What I had to go through to get here. You’ll never understand my praise, don’t try to figure it out. My worship is for real. Abram was saying that to the idol worshippers of Canaan, each time he built an altar. My worship is for real. They did not understand him, but they knew when they saw the altars, that Abram had been there. Please note, this was an expression of Abram’s love for God. Whenever God would speak to him, he built an altar to worship God. What a testimony.
What about your worship? How would you describe it? More importantly, if others had to give a testimony about you, would they be able to say that “your worship is for real?”
The next move for Abram was responding to God’s Word. The next move for Abram was building an altar of worship. The next move for Abram was all about remembering his worth. Like everyone else, Abram struggled with some issues in life and admittedly, he made some mistakes. But he had no problems at all confessing that he believed in God, and that brought him through. God would keep reminding Abram who He was. Each time the Lord spoke to Abram, God confirmed who he was and which direction he was to move. Never once was Abram forced to ask, who am I? He would simply recall what God had said about him and that would establish his plan and purpose. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing” … “And I will bless those that bless you, and curse him that curses you, and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Abram encouraged himself by reminding himself what God had said about him. He was a blessing and not a curse. God would make his name great. God would make him a blessing. This was Abram, God’s man of faith. Amid all the voices that would call him other things, Abram always remembered to whom he belonged. His next move was always to get closer to the Lord God.
Remember those raw materials we talked about earlier. Those raw materials are worked through a number of machine processes until it finally becomes the finished product called for on the drawing. At many points during the process, it may look troubling for the raw materials that are drilled, turned, and ground away in order to bring it to its final quality. It’s that way for the Child of God, but we must trust that our next move will be one of great care and skill in our Master’s Hand.