By Faith...Follow the Leader

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out… and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

Within the space of three weeks, the Rossetti family will have experienced two very distinct blessings. On March 19th, our daughter, Jennifer was married. Shortly thereafter, we will welcome granddaughter number three into our family. God is good!

As I’ve been praying for and thinking deeply on the significance of these events, I couldn’t help but think of both of them as significant “beginnings,” one of a married life and the other of a new life. With that in mind, it came to me that neither the start of a married life nor the start of a new life brings any measure of certainty regarding where and how God may lead. It is with that thought in mind that the passage of scripture cited above speaks to me at a very deep level. Let me share with you what I’ve been thinking.

Without doubt, there are many unexpected things that enter the life of a new marriage. Although newly married couples have some idea of what the future might hold, God may have other ideas which must be factored in. Further, no one but God can know what lies ahead for a baby over the course of her life. In either case, the story of Abraham is instructive for us. You see, his life was going well. He had made plans of his own, but God had other plans for him. God said “go” and he went in faith, with no idea what that meant.

Our daughter and son-in-law have plans, good plans; yet only God knows what unexpected things might enter their lives, causing them to “go out, not knowing where they are going.” Further, there is a sense in which our new granddaughter is something like a blank slate to us, with her life story yet to be written. God may choose to call her to a place she does not know, a place where faith will be what sustains her during the uncertainty of going.

Now, you may wonder how this applies to you and to me. Well, there are times when we don’t know where we are going or what God is doing. Am I right? Have you been asking God where he may be leading in your life? We’ve all knows such times. When I find myself in that situation, I’ve come to see that God may choose not to tell me where he is leading; but instead, he may show me more of who he is. There is a difference, you see. Knowing more of who God is sustains us more than knowing where he is leading or what he is doing.

Are there uncertainties in your life right now? If so, my counsel is simple. Don’t worry as much about where he is leading or what he is doing. Take the time to learn more of who God is. Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going, because he knew the God who was leading.