My decision to move to Japan was not an easy one.
I grew up in Hawaii, and went to school there all the way through college. All my family and friends were living there, and quite frankly, I was just plain comfortable living there. I figured I’d stay there the rest of my life.
And then came the call. It didn’t come by lightning. And it didn’t come all at once. But it came.
I still remember the first day I heard the call.
I was talking to my friend one day, and somehow, we got to talking about being missionaries. And I remember telling him, “God is not calling me to be a missionary.”
To which my friend asked, “How do you know? Did you ask him?”
“Well….no….”
Later that night, I was talking to God, and I said, “Oh, my friend was saying I should ask you about being a missionary.”
And while it wasn’t an out loud voice or anything, I got a very distinct answer: “Yeah, ask me.”
I remember my response just as clearly: “But I don’t want to ask you. What if you say yes?”
The next two years of my life were a struggle of God calling me to Japan and me trying to fight it.
The funny thing is, when I got here, I found myself happier here than I ever was living in Hawaii. And I came to realize, “I guess God knows what he’s doing after all.”
That was 15 years ago.
As I read the story of Abraham, I can’t help but wonder if he struggled with the same kind of feelings.
In verse 1, it says, “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’”
It doesn’t say that at that point in time, “The Lord said…”
It says, “The LORD had told him” before to leave everything behind to follow him.
How long did it take for Abraham (then called Abram) to leave? We don’t know.
It seems, though, that he convinced his dad (Terah) to move the family in the direction of Canaan only to stop before they arrived there (Genesis 11:31).
Why did they stop? Again we don’t know. Maybe Terah told Abram, “I’m too old to keep moving around like this. Let’s just settle down here.”
But whatever the reason, they established their own little town (Haran, apparently named after Abram’s deceased brother), and stayed there for a number of years, until the day Terah died.
It seems that it was at that time that Abram finally remembered God’s call again, picked up, and left everything behind to follow God.
Why did it take so long for Abram to go? God had given him some pretty amazing promises. Maybe it was for some of the same reasons I had. He was comfortable where he was. He had no desire to leave family and friends behind.
Maybe he had other reasons like loyalty to his father and family obligations. But you have to wonder how many years of God’s blessing he missed out on because he held back and didn’t obey God.
How many times do we miss out on God’s blessing, because we’re too comfortable with where we’re at to follow him? How many times have we held on to what’s good, but missed out on what’s best?
It’s something I still struggle with. I like being comfortable. Stepping out in faith is very uncomfortable. But if there’s one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that God knows what he’s doing. And if I follow him, I will find blessing.
As Jesus said,
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:29–30)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 