The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 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.”

Genesis 12:1-3

Dear HBIC Family,

I’m thinking today about the most familiar questions I heard growing up: What is God’s will for your life? What is God’s will in this? Are you seeking God’s will in all of this? These were great questions, brought forth by wonderful people who loved God and who loved me. Fundamentally, I grew up believing that we are to seek God’s will in all that we do. Seeking God’s will for our lives and God’s will in what was happening around us was foundational. 

As I grew in the knowledge of the importance of God’s will, I must confess it grew to be such a burden. Am I doing God’s will? Am I living in God’s will? What even is God’s will in this or even in me and my life? For me, God’s will increasingly became a yoke that seemed too heavy to bear. Furthermore, God’s will became this great intangible reality. I could never get it off my mind, even though I can never really wrap my hands around it. Looking back, I think my focus became more about failing to do God’s will than actually trusting the Spirit to do God’s will in and through me.

The Scriptures say a lot about God’s will. We discern God’s will not by conforming to the patterns of this world, but by the renewing of our minds by the Spirit. We do God’s will by giving thanks in all circumstances, by doing good to silence the foolish, by knowing teaching that is from God, by living in a way that pleases God our Father, etc. Through the Scriptures, I have learned that God’s will for us is not meant to be a mystery.

Life also has shown that the will of God is revealed to us through Jesus and the Spirit. God reveals to us what God wills us to do or be doing. So, the question for us is often much more about our willingness to trust God in all things and to trust God all the time. Are we willing to trust God now even though we cannot know what lies ahead? Are we willing to trust God here even though we do not know how we will make it through? Are we willing to trust God even though it hasn’t all come together yet?

This week, we will be continuing our new Remembrance sermon series. We will be joining Abram as he receives his call from God. In this story, we will remember what God has done in Abram and also in us. To prepare for this week’s service, I would like to invite you to read and meditate on Genesis 12:1-9. To help you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:

What is God calling you to do?

How does your call intersect with God’s call for us as a church?

Where is God asking for more of your trust and reliance on God?

How do you remember what God has done for you? How are you sharing that with others?

I have always been amazed by Abram’s faith in God. God called him before Abram really knew who God was, yet Abram trusted and obeyed. A deeper dive reveals to us that God always willed that Abram would settle in Canaan. Abram’s father Terah was heading to Canaan before settling in Harran. This reminds me that God’s will is not only revealed in God’s time, but that God is actively working in our lives and working for us much earlier than any of us can ever see.

Praise our God who loves us more than we can ever imagine or know. Praise the Holy Spirit for revealing to us who God is. Praise Jesus our Lord for being our Savior and the lover of our souls.

God bless you all, and take care.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Hank (Genesis 12:1-3)