Advent Devotions

Today’s author is Prince of Peace member Bob Reichman.

Genesis 12:1-9

Abram was 75 when he packed up all his stuff, his family and his entourage per God’s instructions and left Haran for the land of Canaan. I’m now within shouting distance of that age, and I can’t imagine gathering all my possessions and immediately taking off for a place I know nothing about. It even makes me uncomfortable trying to find places in the Twin Cities that I haven’t been to. And that’s with GPS, which was seldom used in Abram’s time, I’m told.

Not only that, but he had to convince those who loved him and looked up to him that these weren’t the ravings of a madman. It’s true that I, too, have people who love me and look up to me, but I fear those feelings would take a serious hit if I suggested we all pack up and head for Wyoming ASAP because God said so.

Acting on your faith can be hard, even when you are certain you know what God is asking of you. In Romans, Paul says, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” We can probably all think of times when we knew what we should do but did the opposite.

And much of the time you are not certain, because where God is leading you is often not as clear-cut as it was for Abram. We have the Bible and our theological beliefs, whether institutional or personal, to help point us in the right direction. We also have our community of faith. But that’s not really enough.

You have to, as Darth Vader, of all people, said in “Star Wars,” search your feelings. It’s not easy to sort through them to discern what God is suggesting. “For now, we see in a mirror dimly,” Paul writes in Corinthians. We are all capable of fooling ourselves into believing that what we are about to do is the right thing when it is actually the convenient thing or the choice that will benefit us at the expense of others, or of creation itself.

I wish I had advice that would cause you to exclaim, “Yes! That’s how to do it!” But I don’t. What I can say is try to be honest with yourself. Use the Bible, your core beliefs and values, and talk to those you trust, especially when you are afraid you can’t fully trust yourself. And, importantly, forgive yourself. You can feel good about those times when your faith inspires you to go to Canaan, but there will also be times when you know you did the wrong thing, and times when you’re not sure. If you were perfect in your love, you’d have God’s job, and God doesn’t seem to be looking to retire. God just wants you to show up ready for work.

Prayer
Few, if any of us, will ever have the faith of Abram, God, but we know that you are always present in our lives, eager to guide us along the way to Canaan, but also in our relationships with our neighbors on our block and around the world.