Moving on in Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg observes that open doors aren’t’ always well-marked. In other words, when God does call, the call isn’t always clear. Pastor Ortberg states that, as a general rule, God gives information on a need-to-know basis. And God makes the decision as to who needs to know what, when.
Abram’s move from Ur of the Chaldeans to the land God would show him (aka Canaan) is a prime example. Just as with Abram, there are two parts to God’s ‘go’; coming from and going to. God was vague about where Abram and Sarai were going to. John points out, though, that open door people are comfortable with the ambiguity and risk- or at least don’t allow it- to paralyze them.
No one looking for opportunity would have considered “going from” Ur. Ur was a place of great wealth, trading, learning, and technology in 2000 B. C. So Abram’s open door wasn’t obvious. Going through God’s open doors means trusting God with our future when our path is ambiguous.
In Ur Abram had received a cultural inheritance of idolatry. For Abram to receive God’s blessing and become a great nation, a move to seemingly undesirable Canaan was a necessity. John notes:
“The open door is often more about where my insides are going than where my outsides are going.”
Today’s question: How comfortable are you with ambiguity and risk? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Blessed to bless”
