“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he later would receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country.”- Hebrews 11:8-9
“If you’re not dead, you’re not done.”- Pastor Craig Groeschel
As John Ortberg continues in Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, he stresses that, despite extended periods of waiting, open door people resist becoming discouraged and persist in faithfulness to God’s calling. Pastor Ortberg notes that when God promised Abram and Sarai a child, they had good reasons to be skeptical, for Sarai wasn’t able to conceive (Genesis 11:30).
This was a big deal in Abram’s day. In the ancient world: (a) children meant financial security; (b) children were a continuance of your name, a form of immortality; and (c) women were understood to exist on earth for the express purpose of having children. The inability to bear a child was a stigma, a shame, and a disgrace.
God told Abram and Sarai He would make happen what they’d been waiting for. But they had to go- by faith. Yet, John reminds us, we always will find an excuse to hinder us. But age never is a reason for us to say no when God says go. John concludes:
“Sometimes it takes a while for God’s promises to be fulfilled. But if your not dead, that’s the clue you’re not done.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses have strengthened your resolve to resist discouragement and persist in faithfulness? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: the new Short Meditation, “Turn around”
