Purpose in Your StrugglesSample

AN UNLIKELY CONVERSATION

Read

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. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

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. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

- Genesis 12

Reflect

The journey for Abraham and his family began with God initiating a relationship with him. Scripture does not give details, only the words, “The Lord said to Abram …” (Genesis 12:1a). On the surface it seems natural for God to speak to someone important in the Bible. What makes this scene unnatural is the fact that, at this time, Abraham was not important. In fact, from all indications he was not even following God. The Old Testament book of Joshua tells us that Abraham’s father was an idol worshipper (Joshua 24:2). Picture Abraham as a man who lived in a pagan, idol-worshipping world, being addressed by the creator God of the universe!

God called Abraham because he had great plans for him. He was not singled out because he had a godly heritage, was in the right family, or grew up in the right church. God initiated a conversation with Abraham that interrupted his life and changed the course of his journey. God put him on a track that would ultimately lead to a new path of redemption for the world through Christ.

Where are you on your spiritual journey? You may have little to no awareness or concern for spiritual things. You may have a desire to know more about a life dedicated to God. You may be a dedicated follower of Christ. Just like God had great plans for Abraham, God has great plans for you. Wherever you are in the journey, he wants to take you to the next step. The journey for Abraham led him out of a life of purposeless service of idols and into a life of purposeful faith in God. Where will your journey take you? What conversation is the God of the universe initiating with you that may lead to redemption or transformation in some area of your life?

Respond

Have you ever had a conversation with another person that changed the course of your thinking about something? Has God's call changed your life? How?

Prayer

Father, thank you for initiating a relationship with me that will set me on a path of new life in Christ. Help me honor you as I live out my purpose today. Amen.