What does it mean when God tells us to go? Leaving something? Going for more? Setting a target? Maybe not any of these things, maybe it means uncertainty on our part. The truth is, God's way is not like ours.
When God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12:1 "The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you." (CEVUK)
It was a voice of uncertainty to a man but a certainty to God. It's like two sides of a coin, a part to Abraham, a part to God. A story incomplete yet completed. A life unknown yet appointed.
The truth is, as Christians, it is easier for us to read the story of Abraham leaving his father's land and following God's word blindly. Perhaps, if we look at it from a contemporary viewpoint, we can understand what it really means.
Abraham had just finished his breakfast that morning. He strolled to his garden and was happy with his large herd of cattle. Then he suddenly heard, "go to the land that I will tell you."
For man it's insane but Luke 1:37 says "Nothing is impossible for God!" (CEVUK)
Hence, nothing is hard or incapable for God to do. Which means, if the creator of the universe tells you to go, it is because he already knows the journey.
However, the big question is what do we do when it seems God's timing is taking too long?
Do you pray, sleep, serve, or give up? Oftentimes, we say God's time is the best but what we forget to add in the statement is that God's time is not Humans' Gregorian Calendar.
Moses, in Psalm 90:4, says "but a thousand years mean nothing to you! They are merely a day gone by or a few hours in the night." (CEVUK)
God doesn't work with the time of man, but that doesn't mean he does things late. Just because you don't have it when you need it does not mean God has overlooked you.
The same principle applies to when God tells you to go. It is neither a suggestion nor an opinion, it is a command charging you towards a task. He told Abraham to go to a place I will show you.
Perhaps you have not thought about it but I think God telling you to go is a dual task which includes leaving and then going.
Let's take a look at Abraham's story again, "Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you." God understands that sometimes, we find ourselves engaging in things that are not moving us closer toward him, and to achieve this, He charges us to leave first, then go.
No one can go to another place without leaving a place, except if such a person wants to deceive him/herself. Hence, the act of leaving is the first act of obedience then going follows. But whilst you're gone on God's promise, what do you do when the path is not leading quickly to the promised land as expected?
Well, here are a few points you should note:
Trust in God's timing
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).
While you're on the journey God has charged you to go, there's no physical strength that can sustain you. Hence, you need the renewal of strength by God. This will give you nourishment as well as strengthen your faith.
Seek Him in prayer
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10).
Are you on a journey with God? Then the best backpack you can go along is not worry, but rather prayer. He who brings a plan knows how best to execute it.
Focus on serving others
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9).
The season of going is also a season of waiting. Abraham while going patiently waits for God's promise. However, in a restaurant, what waiters do is serve. Now being in God's presence, the best you can do while waiting is to serve with joy and happiness and without grudges. Don't allow the Devil to prey on your tarry seasons.
Cultivate gratitude
"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4).
Instead of grumbling, why not replace it with gratitude? However, it's not easy as said but the truth is, cultivating the act of gratitude is as crucial as the journey God is taking you through. You have to learn that only God can give you all that he promised and to align your heart to his promises, you must feed it with gratitude. Be grateful.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when God asks you to go. He is not saying gibberish or gainsaying. He is saying it from an authoritative landscape. Not just a viewpoint of uncertainty but from a knowledge of all-knowing perspectives. Remember that he knows all, and because he does, he's got you.
See you again, soon.
Written By
Awósùsì Olúwábùkúnmi