Leadership: God’s Plan of Success for EntrepreneursIhe Atụ

Abraham: Following the Call

Most likely, you already know the story of Abram/Abraham. Here's an overview:      

• Called by God at age 75 to move to where God tells him (Genesis 12:1-4)      
• Obeys and moves to Canaan (12:5-7)      
• Famine hits and temporarily relocates to Egypt (12:10)      
• Leaves Egypt a wealthy man (13:1-2)      
• God promises to bless Abram over and over, and even his descendants (13:14-16, 15:1-20, 17:1-2)      
• God changes Abram’s name to Abraham (17:5)      
• Abraham and Sarah finally become parents; Abraham is now 100, Sarah is 90 (21:1-5)      
• God tests Abraham’s faithfulness by asking him to give up his son Isaac (22:1-14)      
• God repeats the promise of blessing (22:15-18)      
• Abraham dies a wealthy man at age 175 and leaves an enduring legacy (25:5-8)

Abraham was a successful entrepreneur in his day, gaining great wealth and establishing an inheritance for generations. Let’s check how and why God blessed him and how that might apply to your business today.

Abraham Answered God’s Call and Called on God

Abraham’s business plans started by answering God’s call (Genesis 12:1-7), but then Abraham also called back on God. We read of Abraham stopping to build an altar and worshipping God, even as he is en route to his new startup destination (Genesis 12:7, 12:8, 13:4, 13:18).

Abraham regularly spent time with God. And God reciprocated with promises of blessing and an inheritance that would last for generations to come (Genesis 12:2, 14:8-9, 17:1-2, 22:15-17).

Abraham Believed God’s Promises

Abraham and his wife Sarah were well past childbearing years when God promised children and descendants that would be too many to count, even though Abraham was already in his 80s, and Sarah in her 70s:

I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.  – Genesis 12:2

And check Abraham’s response:

Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.  – Genesis 15:6

Abraham Gave Others First Choice

Shortly after leaving Egypt, Abraham’s business prospered so much that he and his nephew Lot had to separate their business operations in order to access enough food for their flocks. As the senior businessperson, Abraham could have dictated the terms, but instead he gave the first choice to Lot:

So Abram said to Lot…, “Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”  – Genesis 13:8-9

Then look at what God says to Abraham:

The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.  – Genesis 13:14-15

Abraham Trusted God Even When It Didn’t Make Sense

God had promised Abraham a son with generations to follow, but then asks him to sacrifice that son in a test of faithfulness. Abraham must have had his doubts, but obediently followed God’s call, just as he did when he first moved to Canaan. 

Read God’s response to Abraham’s obedience:

I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.  – Genesis 22:16-17

God still rules over all today, and is still the giver of life and all blessing, even to your entrepreneurial business efforts.

Do you believe that?

Reflection and application      

• What do you see in Abraham’s life that encourages you? What discourages you?       
• Abraham regularly communed with God. Is that an important part of your working life also?       
• Trusting God can be very difficult at times. Think about the last time you trusted God and how that went. What would you change if that situation came up again?