Courage in the Life of a BelieverSample

Courage to obey God

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [...] So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:1, 4)

God told Abram to leave all that was near and dear to him, and go to a new land that He would show him. And Abram obeyed immediately. No doubt he received many questions from his relatives and certainly from his wife. How could he be so sure that obeying God was the right thing to do?

Venturing out into new terrain takes courage. In Abram's day it meant giving up the protection of his family. Abram didn’t know the country he was going to. All he had were a few promises of God (Genesis 12:2-3). Hebrews 11:8 tells us that Abram obeyed by faith. He trusted God, and that supplied him with the courage to take this drastic step.

Abram was not a perfect man, though. Just a few verses later we read that he told Sarai to lie to the Pharaoh. He did not trust in God’s protection at that point (Genesis 12:10-20). Abram had to learn to trust God in all he did - and God gave him many opportunities to grow in that trust.

What would you do if God asked you to give up security and step out in faith?