Will You Go Out Without Knowing?
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8 NKJV
Many of us are familiar with the idea that Hebrews 11 is God’s “Hall of Fame” or “Hall of Faith.” It is filled with the accounts of spiritual giants who, against all odds, trusted God.
From Abel to Noah…from Jacob to Moses…from Rahab to Gideon…from Samson to David…the writer extols the faith of these individuals.
However, the most print in the chapter is afforded to the one who became known as the “Father of Faith” – Abraham.
We’re told how Abraham left his homeland and all of his possessions to travel to a place where he would receive an inheritance.
We’re told how he made his home in tents like a stranger in a foreign country.
We’re told how he believed God for a son even though he and his wife were well beyond the age of childbearing.
We’re told that Abraham was willing to sacrifice that son when God asked him to. (Even though this was only a test, Abe didn’t know it at the time.)
In looking at this legacy, it causes my spiritual tongue to hang out. What a man of faith! But is there more to be learned here than to simply admire Abraham?
Follow Me
In rereading these verses, I was struck by the phrase, “…he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
And I thought how this really is one of the hallmarks of a disciple of Jesus. Think about it. The Master invited a group of men to “Follow Me…” (Matthew 4:19). They didn’t know where He would lead them. They didn’t know what they might face. They literally went out not knowing where they were going.
Answering Jesus’ call to “Follow Me” means going out without knowing where you are going.
So it is for those of us who would respond to the Lord’s invitation. “Follow Me, Dave…” “Follow Me, Angie…” “Follow Me, Mike…” “Follow Me, Trish…”
“Follow Me into the unknown. Follow Me into the uncertain. Follow Me into the mystery.”
For the disciple of Jesus, the call to follow is obeyed when we go out without knowing.
You don’t know what that will bring. You don’t know what challenges you will face. The only thing you know is that in that following, you are with Jesus. And He knows what He is doing.
You don’t know what following Jesus will bring. You only know that you are with Jesus, and He knows what He is doing.
Faith, Not Sight
Make no mistake. The temptation will be to play it safe. To be able to see where that following will lead. Yet, if we demand to have sight, we’ll never know what it means to walk by faith. And that is what the Lord is looking for.
If we demand sight, we’ll never know what it means to walk by faith.
Let me encourage you to continually examine your attitude toward your followership – to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in the Lord entirely.
In so doing, you might not make it into the book of Hebrews, but you might well make it into God’s Hall of Fame.
PRAYER
Lord, in looking more closely at Abraham’s walk of faith, I now see that I am called to do more than admire it. I’m called to emulate it. May I recognize that each morning as I wake up, there is a new opportunity to go out without knowing.
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