Abraham, Faith, and Unwelcome Visitors
I wonder what it was like for Abraham to heed God's calling to leave everything he knew and go somewhere else - a foreign land and a foreign situation. Basically, he was going from the known to the unknown. He was settled, married, and probably comfortable where he was. But on a promise from God, he uprooted himself and his wife and left. He didn't know where, or why, but he went. All he had to go on was God's promise that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I'm sorry, but does that sound like logic to you? Say what? He was old, had no kids, and a vague message from God. But he went.... That's what I call faith - faith in God himself. Forget about common sense. Logic? Out the window. This is what faith looks like. This is what dreams are made of. This is the miracle that God brings about.
You know, I can't help but think of Abraham because his situation seems like mine, only amplified several thousand times. And still, I'm not sure I have the faith that Abraham has. Sometimes I kick myself because there are so many examples of faith, and yet, I forget and wonder what on earth I'm doing. I have frequent visitors - Common Sense, Logic, and Doubt. Common sense likes to tell me that I can't plunge into something I cannot see very well. Logic always has the same message, "This is not a logical way to go. Can't you see that?" And Doubt? Doubt doesn't speak....Doubt doesn't have to. Doubt just smiles at me and then sneers at me. Doubt gives me these looks that I have difficulty shaking off. Doubt creeps into my head at night and builds a nest there. I can take on Common Sense and Logic - I have a black belt in Spontaneity and Intuition. But Doubt? Doubt requires a measure of faith that sometimes I'm afraid I just don't think I have.
But as I struggle with issues of going, fighting, or yielding, I realize that I have reached a point where I cannot turn back. I can only go forward and that means only one thing: I will continue to have my visitors but I will also have lots of opportunities to use my black belt defenses. And I can only hope that my faith will grow enough to stop Doubt's nest-building and sneakiness. The rest? Well, perhaps I need more visitors, but the welcome kind.....
You know, I can't help but think of Abraham because his situation seems like mine, only amplified several thousand times. And still, I'm not sure I have the faith that Abraham has. Sometimes I kick myself because there are so many examples of faith, and yet, I forget and wonder what on earth I'm doing. I have frequent visitors - Common Sense, Logic, and Doubt. Common sense likes to tell me that I can't plunge into something I cannot see very well. Logic always has the same message, "This is not a logical way to go. Can't you see that?" And Doubt? Doubt doesn't speak....Doubt doesn't have to. Doubt just smiles at me and then sneers at me. Doubt gives me these looks that I have difficulty shaking off. Doubt creeps into my head at night and builds a nest there. I can take on Common Sense and Logic - I have a black belt in Spontaneity and Intuition. But Doubt? Doubt requires a measure of faith that sometimes I'm afraid I just don't think I have.
But as I struggle with issues of going, fighting, or yielding, I realize that I have reached a point where I cannot turn back. I can only go forward and that means only one thing: I will continue to have my visitors but I will also have lots of opportunities to use my black belt defenses. And I can only hope that my faith will grow enough to stop Doubt's nest-building and sneakiness. The rest? Well, perhaps I need more visitors, but the welcome kind.....
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