Right Foot! Left Foot!
January 7 (Genesis 12-13)
“Father Abraham - had many sons – many sons had Father Abraham.” Only 11 chapters into the Bible and we meet one of the most important characters in the Bible, the patriarch, Abram, who God renamed Abraham. He was called by God to go to a land to which he would direct him. Some debate if this first encounter occurred when Abram lived in Babylon or later, while in Haran after his father died. The important thing is that when God spoke, Abram WENT, not even sure where the Lord was leading him. This man, the father of faith, demonstrated that faith by packing up and putting one foot in front of the other. As Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham…went out.”
Along the way, God made grand promises of a large family, a wonderful heritage that would bless the nations, and an incredible inheritance. He became the heir of promises, most of which he never received. Nor did his sons or grandsons. But they all kept moving forward because they trusted what God said, that one day something big was going to happen.
Although he was rich and could have retired at any time, he kept moving as a pilgrim. Moving to Haran, moving to Canaan, moving to the Negeb, moving to Egypt, moving back to Canaan, living in tents as did his family, Isaac and later Jacob. Because of God’s influence, they recognized there was something better waiting for them than what they were experiencing on this earth. The writer of Hebrews says that they were “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” They, and all the other heroes of the Bible, knew they were playing a role in a bigger story, and their life was only one scene in a play of many acts.
Faith is what kept the story line in the Bible progressing, through the growth of Israel, through slavery in Egypt, through deliverance and occupation of the promised land, through kings both good and evil, through captivity. The blessing finally came to fulfillment in Jesus, but the journey continues. The faith that began the story is the faith that keeps us moving today. We are part of that same story, and their journey will not be complete until we wrap up our own.
So don’t give up in your journey with God. Hang in there. Don’t let atrophy set in. Keep on moving. One foot in front of the other. Hopping, hopping, never stopping. Right foot! Left foot! I’m beginning to think there may be more to that silly Abraham song than we realize!
“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40
