My grandson Preston (or as we call him, Bubby) has recently turned one. Of course, he is a cutie! My husband and I are blessed because our grandchildren (and their parents) live in the same town we do. We get to see them almost everyday. Bubby started walking in the last week or so….well sort of. He has actually walked for a couple of months, BUT he could crawl faster than he could walk, so why walk slowly when you can crawl really fast? Right? Why take wobbly steps when you are steady when you crawl? Letting go of mom and taking steps is risky. There is no security in it. Moving away from tables and walls for balance is hard…you might fall. Staying close to the ground to crawl is easy, safe. Why risk it?

First baby steps are the hardest. That is true both in our physical life and our life of faith in Christ. Baby Steps…. Trusting God…. Walking By Faith…it is my challenge daily. Anyone that follows God knows that walking away from the familiar to step into the unknown is hard! Sometimes we are thrown into the unknown. Sometimes it comes on us in a God moment, a moment that God compels us to make a major change in our life. Abraham had a God moment, a moment that God called him to leave the familiar. Leave all that he knew and was familiar to him and venture out into the unknown. I look at his life, and wonder if I would have been able to do what he did.

Read Acts 7:2-3. Abraham was called to the land of Canaan while he was in Mesopotamia (Ur), before he lived in Haran. At breakfast one morning my husband pointed out something I had never thought about. Genesis 11:31 states “Terah (the father of Abraham) took his son Abram, his grandson Lot…and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.” Settled there. Is that what I do? Do I start out taking baby steps of faith and then settle when I get a little bit comfortable? It appears that Abraham and his family did, at least until Terah died.

Stop just a moment and put yourself in Abraham’s shoes. This first step was very scary. God called Abraham to leave his comfort, his familiar life, and the family he had always known… he couldn’t even SKYPE them! He was to pick up and become a nomad. He was to leave his “top 1% lifestyle” and all of its comforts and live in a tent….not just a few nights, but for many, many years. He was to leave his way of making money and stepping out in trust that God would care for him. His first faith steps were hard. Was it because the first steps were hard that he was willing to “settle” in Haran? Have I settled when God has called me to walk by faith?

The first faith steps we take are hard. It feels good when we take them and get to what we think is where God called us. But what if God has called us to more? Our challenge is not to get happy with those first steps. Our challenge is to not stop and settle when we are comfortable, but seek the rest of our God story. God has things for us to do, just as He had things for Abraham to do. In Genesis 12:1 God tells Abraham once again to get up and go! Go to Canaan, His promised land. He told him DO NOT SETTLE!

Genesis 12:2-3 God followed up the command for Abraham with His covenant to him. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you: I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse: and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” If Abraham had settled, he would have missed out on the promises of God. His descendants would not have become a great nation. God had a purpose for Abraham from the time he was in his mother’s womb (Psalms 139:13-16). He has a purpose for you and me too.

Turn over to James 2:14-24. My Bible titles this section as “Faith and Deeds”. I agree with that title, but I would like to give it another title, especially verses 20-24…”Faith and Fulfillment”. James argues that it was because Abraham took steps in obedience that his faith was “made complete”. It was Abraham stepping out in faith and obedience that made him known as a friend of God. It was his faith and obedience that made him known as righteous.

Do you see the analogy of Bubby letting go and Abraham letting go? What if Abraham had always settled? I’m sure he would have had opportunities to serve God and be an example to others while he lived in Haran, BUT it was not until he took those first steps in faith and CONTINUED to walk in faith and obedience to God that he lived the full life that God promised him.

Abraham chose to “get off the floor and stop crawling”. He chose to “let go of the wall, tables and couch” and step out into God’s promise. If he had not taken the first steps, the blessings that he had been promised would have never happened. If he would have “settled” His life would have been good, but not fulfilled. He would not have become all that God wanted him to become, and I believe that his life would have felt like “he was missing something”.

What faith steps do you need to take? Is it as simple as reaching out to a neighbor? Is it looking for a different job? Is it stepping up in your church family and becoming a part of a ministry? Without Abraham taking his first step, his life would not have been fulfilled. God has big things for you to do….no matter your age. He does not want you to settle for the status quo. He wants you to step out in faith. He wants you to experience His promises.

Join me in praying these scriptures:  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith –that you, being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-20

Be blessed – Cherie