This is Day Six of my series, Out of Exile… a 40-day journey from setback to comeback.

On Day Five I gave a brief overview of the many exile stories in the Bible.  Today I want to look at one story in particular: Abram. I think anyone who has sensed a call to follow God can relate to Abram’s calling.

God Calls Abram

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go 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." So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Genesis 12:1-5

Hoping for the Best

It’s interesting, in retrospect, to see what I focused on when I sensed God call me. I focused on the words “great” and “blessed.” 

I didn’t think much about the cost of leaving what was familiar to me. I didn’t think much about "being 75," that is, my limitations. And I didn’t think much about the "Lot’s" in my life (unhealthy people) who would go with me. 

I focused on verse two: 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 bet that’s what Abram heard too. He was convinced that Canaan would be amazing. Sarah probably wasn’t so sure, but Abram was sure she’d come around once she saw what a great place it was.

In Canaan, Abram was going to establish God’s kingdom. In Canaan, he was going to be the GUY. God’s guy. He was going to call the shots and make things happen in a way that he never could as long as he was under his dad’s oversight back in Haran. Canaan was definitely the land of promise! Abram couldn’t get there fast enough.

Did you respond to God’s call that way? All you saw was the glory?  But what did Abram find in Canaan?

The Reality of Following God

At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Genesis 12:6

I bet Abram may have thought…

Wait a minute. Canaanites? God never said anything about Canaanites. 

And maybe you thought…

God never told me that I’d still have problems with my family or that my career wouldn’t pan out the way I thought or that I’d still have money problems!

But that's not all. There’s more. Or I should say, less:

Now there was a famine in the land…   Genesis 12:10

Abram probably thought…

A famine? If God called me to follow him, how could there be a famine? 

And you might think…

I thought God would take care of my needs. I shouldn’t have to take a second job. I thought this would include a good health insurance plan. I thought I’d be able to afford a vacation.  

And then come the doubts:

Maybe I didn’t hear God. Maybe I was just emotional and desperate. Maybe this God thing is a joke. I’m not so sure of what I’m doing. 

When there’s a famine in the land, you doubt your call or you doubt God’s goodness, or both.

Counting the Cost

There are many losses associated with following Jesus. Remember, he said that he wanted people to pick up their cross to follow him. That means there are sacrifices to be had. Losses. That's not bad. But you need to name them, assess the loss , and grieve it; otherwise you will bury the pain of loss and it will rot and smell and undermine your life and relationships.

I’ll have more to say on Abram on Day Seven. I hope you come back.

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This 40-day journey is adapted from my book, Return from Exile.

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