Gambling on a "Sure Thing."

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

Abraham has always been a beacon of courage for me. The above verse has always been a strength. I think of the uncertainty that faced Abraham, the fear that he must have felt everything he knew for nothing that he did, yet doing so because he knew God was with him. I’ve been on that journey more times than I would have chosen, stepping out and hoping that God would meet me there. 

The Apostle Paul tells us that “against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.” Abraham was an old man -- retirement age -- married to a wife unable to have kids when God told him he would be a father of many nations, calling him to leave the known for the unknown, the voice of God whispering “trust me.” 

He hoped against hope because It was hopeless. But God had promised.

He hoped against hope because It was hopeless. But he knew God was good. 

He hoped against hope. But it was really really hopeless. 

You see, that is where the tension is. He didn’t know the how; he didn’t know the details, how it would end up for him. What if he made a mistake? What if God did not deliver? Hope is most hope when it is against hope. If it is a sure thing, if you can do it whether God “shows up” or not, where is hope required? 

As a pastor one of my greatest desires is for every single person to step when called into a place where if God does not show up they will be in trouble. I want them to listen, to ask God the what and the where, and then, when God provides an opportunity, to step, to trust, to hope against hope and to move; and to meet God in a more amazing way than they ever imagined. Yet most people wait and wait for a sure thing. Sure thing hope, however, never works. Either we get a sure thing and step out in “faith” only to quickly explaining away God’s role. Or, we never are presented with anything sure enough and so we never step. Either way we lose. 

“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.” He could have said no. He could have waited for a guarantee or greater certainty. But he didn’t wait, he went. And in the process he came to know God in an amazing way and was used by him to bless the whole world. 

Where is God calling you to go? What are you waiting for?