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ABRAM SETS OUT FOR CANAAN (GENESIS 12:1-19)

REFLECTION

“Abram set out for Canaan”, is the theme for our reflection. To set out means to depart or begin a journey from one place to the other. Abram sets out from Canaan means Abram journeyed from His place of origin to Canaan. We shall reflect on the fact that to fulfill our purpose in life we must be ready to trust and obey the Lord by setting out from our comfort zones to wherever He is leading us.

Dear friend in the Lord, It takes faith, trust and obedience to fulfil God’s will and our purpose in life. Abram lived in the comfort of His father’s home yet the Lord said to him “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you…So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him…” (Genesis 12:1,4) The test of Abram’s faith and obedience was his willingness to journey or set out from his place of comfort or origin to a foreign country with uncertainty. The test of moving from the known to the unknown without knowledge of what lies ahead except for his trust and obedience in the Lord is worthy of emulation. It is, for this reason, that the writer of Hebrews wrote, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8) Our greatest test is responding to God’s call in our comfort zones. Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah Joseph, Jesus and His disciples were all examples of people who were sent to fulfil the mission of God out of their comfort zones. Are you also ready to respond to God’s call to become a Pastor, Catechist, Evangelist, Presbyter or to serve the Lord in any other capacity by setting out from your comfort zone? Are you ready to endure a journey of discomfort, hardship, and insult to trust and obey the call of God from your comfort zone? Today, many believers give excuses with their work, businesses and other personal engagements when the call of the Lord comes to them to set out from their comfort zones to be used to fulfil His mission on earth.

What then is the reward for responding to God’s call by trusting and obeying Him, or like Abram, setting out from our comfort zones to embark on a journey to Canaan? The promise of the Lord is, “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. (Genesis 12:2) Again we are assured by the writer of Hebrews that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) It is this faith and obedience that caused Moses to move out of his comfort zone to be the leader who facilitated the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt, It was this trust and obedience that made Joseph become the prime minister of Egypt. It is this trust and obedience that made Jesus say “not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42), and as a result of trusting and obeying the Father, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11). Beloved in the Lord, this a testament that when we set out in trust and obedience to God’s call and mission beyond our comfort zone, “… He who has promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23) When the disciples responded to the call or commission to go make disciples of all nations, Jesus assured, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) It means that when we live our comfort zones to fulfil our calling or mission, His glory will never depart from us, hence the reassurance from Prophet Joel, “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; (Joel 2:32)

In summary, we have discovered that to fulfil our purpose in life we must be ready to trust and obey the Lord by setting out from our comfort zones to wherever He is leading us.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, strengthen us to trust and obey the Lord when He calls us out of our comfort zones to fulfil His mission and our purpose in life. Amen.