Leaning on the Character of God

I recently had to tell my parents a difficult thing…my husband was resigning from his job. That wasn’t the hard part. The hard part was that he did not have a job to which he was going. We are on the road of faith and the end is good, but getting there takes…well, faith. That isn’t the point. The point is this, my parents were not too crazy about Phil’s transition from Xerox to full time ministry. I had no idea what their reaction to a move from full time ministry to home missions was going to be.

We chatted for a long time as I went in circles about our dreams, the vision to which we believe God is calling us, together as a team, as a couple. At one point, obviously a little flustered by my inability to explain in a concise fashion the job description for his next assignment, she calmly said, “Ellen, I trust Phil and I know this will be alright. He is a good man and a resourceful man. He will find a way through it.”

As a wife, I beamed with pride. First of all, my mother’s words were a tremendous accolade and vote of confidence in my beloved. Second of all, it was a much better response to our news than I had expected. And finally, even though she could not see her way through the circumstances, she trusted in my husband’s character to bring us through. And, that, is the point.

As we have moved through this adventure to the point we are now, Phil has often commented that he feels a little like Abraham getting instructions from God: “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) Wouldn’t it have been nice if God had said, “oh, by the way, I went by AAA, the Angelic Automobile Association, and picked up this triptik for you, here are some maps, it’s cool because they show you all the detours too. And, every hundred miles or so, you’ll see that there are road side restaurants. Finally, I know you might be a little worried about provision along the way, don’t. I’ve got you covered. Here are some gift certificates for some clothes, sandals, tents along the way. You’ll find everything you need at the Fertile Crescent Mall” which, of course, is clearly marked on the map. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that way. Or rather, fortunately, it wasn’t that way; otherwise, Abraham would not be our father in the faith. He would be known as our father in confidence in things seen…or something like that.

Now, imagine the conversation Abraham had with Sarah’s father as he told him that his god had told him he needed to leave Haran. It’s just another hot dry day in the desert outlying the fertile crescent. Abraham and Sarah’s father are sharing a little cup of goat’s milk, sitting on a little carpet.

“So, uhm, Abraham, Sarah tells me that you are leaving Haran.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any special reason why.”
“No sir.”
“Then why are you leaving?”
“Uh, God told me to.”
“This new god?”
“Actually sir, he is the only true god. He told me so.”
“So he told you to go. And I suppose he told you he is stronger than the moon god and the god of fertility.”
“Well, sir (he laughs nervously)…it’s not as if the fertility god is doing much for us either.”
“Alright, where exactly are you going?”
“Good question. In fact, that is a great question…to which I don’t have a good or great answer. I am not sure.”
“Well, how will you know when you get to wherever this secret place you are going to is?”
“Yet again, another great question. I don’t know.” He looks sheepishly down at his sandals.
“Abraham, I have entrusted you with my daughter. Do you expect me to just let you take her to some unknown place to worship some unknown God?”
“Sir, I don’t know the way that my God takes me, but I know He is good, and He is loving, and He is the almighty God, able to do all things and able to do anything. The way that He takes me is good if I follow Him, He will not lead me astray. I trust in His character. So I know the way He leads me will be good.”

And that is the point.

We’re all on a faith journey. And there is not one of us who knows exactly where the faith journey leads. If we knew, we would have no reason for faith or for hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the confidence of things not seen.. (Hebrews 11:1) And we have that hope and that confidence because of the God who loves us and who leads us.

So, we’re all the children of Abraham, in many ways. We may not be sure where we will end up, but we know who leads us and that He is good. As Christians, we trust in the character of God, we lean on the character of God, we depend on the character of God. That’s why when Moses asked well, if they ask who sent me, what am I supposed to say? God answered firmly, perhaps even laughing as He answered, “tell them, I AM sent you.” So when the way is dark, uncertain, confusing, painful…trust His character. I AM sent you.