Living with Resolve

Since I’ve been married I’ve moved seven times. Seven times in nearly 25 years. Some of those moves were simply across town. Three of them crossed state lines. The moves across town were aggravating because we didn’t take the time to pack as carefully as we did when we made a major transition, so some stuff was broken. The long moves were aggravating because they involved substantial planning and expense, so I felt broken. But each move had one thing in common…we knew our destination. We had the house picked, complete with address and everything. Abram? Not so much. When God invited Abram to become involved in his plan and purpose the destination was not disclosed. Abram was simply to pack the truck and head south until God told him to stop.

How do you respond to those invitations to participate in the work of God? Like Abram, we respond to the invitation of God through faith. As Christians we talk a lot of faith, but sometimes our conversations are somewhat uninformed. What do we need to know about faith?

First, faith is my response to the revelation of God. God discloses himself to us, and that disclosure is the invitation to respond to God. No where does the Bible suggest that believers are to sit and trump up stuff to do for God. More often than not, that kind of thinking only leads to trouble. God discloses himself and his plan and I respond to him.

Second, faith reveals what you really believe about God. Faith is relationship based, not task based. It is not about assessing the actions of God but about assessing the character of God. What I do when God reveals himself to me and invites me to join him speaks volumes about what I really believe about God.

Third, growing faith is a cycle of revelation and response. Like getting to know someone, God discloses himself in stages. We know God to the degree that he makes himself known to us. Each time we respond to what he reveals, he discloses himself a little more fully. He reveals and we respond. He reveals himself again and we respond again. You get the point.

Responding to God in faith, then, becomes a life changing experience. It creates urgency, passion, and meaning. Following God is no longer a big deal, it is the deal! When you pursue God and participate in what he’s doing, you experience a paradigm shift from seeking success to seeking significance. Remember, Abram was already wealthy. He had more money than he could ever hope to spend. But he wasn’t blessed by God. Abram didn’t know everything, but he knew enough to realize that success wasn’t enough. He realized he’d been created for significance, and that significance would only be found in walking by faith and participating in God’s eternal purposes. He could not go with God and remain as he was. Neither can we.