I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 ESV
Faith…the Christian faith, is our choice to follow Jesus, regardless of where He is leading. Faith is a challenge, that offers us the adventure to explore the unknown, serve those we have never met and trust God in circumstances we never planned. Faith is a journey, not a bus stop and the best part is that we don’t travel alone, because following Jesus means He is just a step ahead of us all the way. Will you choose…will I choose to live by faith today?
"To the choirmaster, of the sons of Korah, according to Alamoth, a song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1 ESV
We don’t know what kind of trouble David faced when he wrote Psalm 46, but it is interesting that instead of trying to figure out his own solution, he decides to write a song. In the first line of his lyrics, he starts to remind himself of who God is and how He always comes through to help.
The intriguing feature of David’s song is that he divides it into three parts, and at the end of each one he writes the word, “Selah”, which can be roughly translated, “Stop and think about that for a moment.” David wants us to remember that when we face dangers and difficulties, instead of panicking, and running away, or running to the wrong place for help, we need to stop and think about God’s faithfulness, power and love. Now, we don’t necessarily need to write ourselves a song like David did to remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness, though that’s not a bad idea. Just begin singing the words of Psalm 46 in your heart. God doesn’t care what melody you use. Then, no matter what happens, remember that we can always trust in Jesus. So stop what you’re doing and think about that!
Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. Genesis 11:31 ESV
I used to think that God called Abram to go to the land of Canaan, as if it were just a lightning bolt out of the blue. It seemed that when God said, “Go to a place I will show you.”, it was if it were a place totally unknown and unfamiliar to Abram. But in today’s reading, we discover that actually Abram’s father, Terah, had set out from Ur to go to Canaan years before: but he never finished the journey. Terah did leave behind his home country. He left behind the land of idolatry, his familiar surroundings and friends, but when he got to the town of Haran, Terah decided to settle. Of course, God doesn’t give us all the particulars, of Terah’s motives, but whatever they were, they caused him to give up on his goal.
Now Terah started in the right direction but never made it all the way, because he settled. But the good news for us today, is that even though Terah settled for less, God didn’t He hadn’t changed His mind, and unlike any of us, God has all the time in the universe to bring His plans to pass. So, God waited. He waited a generation as Terah grew old and died in the safe little village of Haran. They must have lived there for many years during that waiting time, because by the time chapter twelve starts, Abram is already seventy-five years old. But God’s call never grows old, He never gives up and God never settles for less. Instead, God came and called again, but this time HIs call was to Abram:
“And the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you – And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot, his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of CANAAN...” Genesis 12 1; 5a ESV
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