My Walk Mondays. Faith in Motion.

"The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. " Genesis 12:1

Our family has been going through a lot of changes lately. My husband was laid off in January from his job of more than 12 years. We have also been attending a new church for the last month. Yes, a lot of changes. It reminds me of Genesis 12 where God told Abram to take his family and set out for the place He will show them. Abram was to leave everything that was comfortable and familiar and travel somewhere new. But God didn't give Abram any details other than the command to go. For some reason God didn't want Abram to know the details - maybe because Abram wouldn't have wanted to go had he known the situation. Or maybe, God wanted to test his faith, or maybe the journey WAS the destination.

This is hard to grasp because I am a person that likes to know all of the details. For example, last Summer we took a trip to So Cal to visit Disneyland, Sea World and Universal Studios. I planned the entire trip in advance, we had our tickets, coupons, everything. Nothing was left to chance. I thoroughly enjoyed going over the details again and again- well in advance. I spent hours reading park reviews, maps, mulling over ticket prices, and hotel accommodations because I wanted everything to be just right. I wanted our vacation experience to be well thought out and well prepared. I just wanted us to have the best time possible.

Going on vacation took no faith on our part. We had the maps, ticket receipts and itinerary confirmations. Everything was set for us to simply show up.

But Abram was given a completely different mission. He was basically told to leave home and start walking with directions to follow.

This is the faith that Abram was later commended for in Hebrews 11:8-10

"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. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

He didn't merely believe what God said, but he took it a step further. He put his faith into motion when he took his family and set out for this unknown destination. His faith was activated the moment his sandals hit the road. He obeyed before he saw any evidence, before there was a Messiah or the Holy Spirit.

As I think of God's faithfulness in Abram's life I am excited to see what God has in store for us. I want faith like Abram, where I don't just believe in God, but I want to put my faith into motion. Maybe it's not so much about the destination as it is about the journey.