Monday February 21, 2022

Today is Monday, February 21 and this week we are exploring what the Bible says about leaving the past behind.

As I begin this new day with prayer, I seek God’s presence. I breathe deeply and slowly and focus my whole being upon the triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord God, thank you for loving me. I cherish reminders of your presence throughout my day. Teach me to open my heart and mind to receive the message you have for me. I am learning to listen for your still small voice in my soul. Amen.

I join the ancient pilgrims in a song of ascents, singing the words of Psalm 122 as they approach the Holy City.

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity. Psalm 122:1,6-9

Pause and Pray

Before God spoke to him, Abraham’s future seemed fairly mundane and predictable. Abraham’s father Terah settled in the land of Haran in northwest Mesopotamia (near the border of modern-day Syria and Turkey) around 2,000 B.C. Terah claims the ancient homeland for his family and settles with his son Abraham, Abraham’s wife Sarah and his grandson (Abraham’s nephew) Lot. Terah dies at the ripe old age of 205. Abraham accumulated wealth and possessions, but Sarah is said to be barren and childless. Then God speaks. God says, “go”. Go where? To the land I will show you. Abraham accepts and embraces his assignment. He obeys. Without hesitation, Abraham and Sarah pack up the household and set off, following God on a long journey one step at a time. The distance from Haran to Shechem in the land of Canaan is about 500 miles. Today it is a thirteen hour drive by automobile. Four thousand years ago traveling by foot with a retinue of people including family, bond servants, portable living quarters, food, livestock, possessions, and supplies, it was a long, slow, arduous journey. The route wound through arid deserts and mountainous terrain. They likely encountered wild animals, shortages of water, disease, and storms, leaving the past behind and journeying into the unknown.

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. Genesis 12:1-5

I envision Abraham standing outdoors looking to the west. He has questions. Where is God asking him to go? What will the new land be like? How long will the journey take? I imagine his uncertainty and fear, perhaps maybe also some excitement. I envision his wife Sarah’s reaction when he gives her the news. A long journey, likely never to see family again. There will be sacrifices, breaking ties of their homeland, leaving kindred behind, going to a new world. Abraham and Sarah exchange the known for the unknown. I consider those times in my life when a change presented itself. Leaving home for college or a first job. Moving from one state to another, from one city to another, or from one home to another. Leaving employment to stay at home with the kids, transferring to a new job, retiring after a long career. Life changes are difficult, even when they are positive. There is grief, letting go of the past, leaving things behind, and making room for the new.

Ask: What do I struggle to let go and leave behind? How might holding onto things from the past prevent me from moving into the future God has for me?

Pause and Pray

Sovereign Lord, speak clearly about the future you have in mind for me. Where is it that I am to “go” and what is it you want me to do? Give me faith like Abraham to set out in the direction you set and give me courage to take steps forward. Whatever I am holding on to from my past, I release it to you. Help me let go of former things so that I am free to fully embrace what you are unfolding. I read the words from Genesis again and listen for the message you have for me.

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. Genesis 12:1-5

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

God speaks directly to Abraham. I wish I heard God that clearly in regards to my future. God does speak to me, I am the one who is learning to listen. I consider how this particular passage from Genesis informs my current situation. Perhaps there is somewhere God is asking me to “go.” Maybe God is not asking me to travel to another country, but visit a place down the street, a class at church, the home of a friend, a place of need, a location of suffering, a person who is lonely. Perhaps there is someone I am to call, write or make a connection with online. If I go where God shows me, I may need to leave something behind. Abraham and Sarah left their people, their home, everything they had ever known. What would I need to leave behind? Abraham and Sarah also took many things with them to the land God showed them. What should I take with me into my future? God blesses Abraham and God wants to bless me too. I am blessed to be a blessing to others. What do I need to leave behind and what do I need to take with me in order to be the blessing God intends?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, I welcome you to reveal the next steps in my life journey with you. I invite you into my current circumstances and ask you to shed light on my path. Reveal the places you want me to go and grant me the courage I need to move forward into a new day, a new church and a new world. Amen.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

As I leave this time of prayer, I go with God blessed to be a blessing to others in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord.

Amen.