Lenten Reader | Day 12

March 7th, 2023

The Lord Told Him

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.”

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:1-7

The beginning of these few verses says, “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you...’” Seems pretty straight forward, right? He appeared to Abram and said these things.

Has the Lord ever said anything so clearly to you? I will admit, I have never received such an abrupt message. I have gotten nudges, feelings, and felt peace from the Lord but never such a direct message. However, I have heard others’ accounts of hearing the Lord speak to them. My own father got up one Sunday in our little church and told a story of a time when the Lord spoke to him. A friend of his had been shot in the face in a hunting accident, and the Lord had suddenly told him that he needed to physically pray over his friend. He listened, drove to Columbus, and prayed. His friend was scarred but survived. It was the first time I ever saw my dad cry, unable to hold back his emotions while telling this story, and I believed what he said to be true; the Lord had SPOKEN to him. As in Abram’s case, my father listened and that, I think, is the most important point.

I am sure my dad was working when he got this message – either on a construction site or on the farm doing chores. Whatever he was doing, he inconvenienced himself to stop, listen, and follow directions. This inconvenience does not stack up to Abram’s having to leave his country, his father’s household, and his people, but it is still relatable. Choosing to not go to that ball game, to leave work early, to put off that chore, and instead, go pray over a friend. Whether the Lord is speaking out loud to you or you simply feel a nudge, I encourage you to listen and follow and trust that if it is the Lord’s will, it is good and it will bring you peace.

Ryan Slaughter