“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.’” Genesis 12:1
While faith is a very familiar word, we can be uncertain about what it actually means. We know we’re supposed to trust God but what does living by faith look like? Abraham shows us what it means to step out in faith—literally! God knew Abram’s identity and security were in his family and his land. Abram needed to release those things so God could give him something else.
Abraham had to let go of his old identity (Abram) before he could take hold of his new identity (Abraham, Genesis 12:5). Isn’t that exactly what Jesus calls us to do? “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Finding our identity in Christ means dying to self; leaving behind the sources of comfort and security our old nature tries to cling to. In other words, we have to let go in order to grow.
We see this clearly in the physical realm. We give up bottles, diapers, soft food, and toys. And anyone who doesn’t, we call immature. The same is true spiritually. That’s why 1 Corinthians 13:11 tells us, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away withchildish things.” So, what keeps God from giving us all He wants us to have? Maybe it’s because our hands are clutched around something else.
Also notice that God didn’t give Abraham the destination; otherwise he’d have been destination-driven. He had no choice but to keep his eyes on the Lord. God always wanted Abraham to seek HIM, not a place. Likewise, God wants us to find security in knowing and following Him. But the more immature we are, the more insecure we’ll be.
In what area of life is God asking you to step out in faith? Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone in order to get where God wants you to be? Remember, you have to let go in order to grow. God can’t fill hands that are clutched around something else. You may not know exactly where He’s leading; that’s okay. Step out in faith anyway. Old sources of comfort and security fall away when you die to self and seek HIM.