This is the time of year for some of the big milestones of life: high school graduations, college graduations, weddings ,etc. With those milestones come big changes and unexpected hurdles that we never know if we are going to be completely ready to face. The unknown can cause hesitation and fear in pressing forward in life, but if we face up to the reality that life is coming whether we are ready or not it can better enable us to deal with what comes our way when it does. A prime example of this in the Bible is Abraham and this past Sunday night I used Abraham as a launching point to remind some of our high school graduates that whether they are “Ready or Not – Life Comes!”
Text: Genesis 12:1-3; Hebrews 11:8
Title: Ready or Not – Life Comes
Main Point: What happens when a milestone occurs and life smacks you in the eye? Changes come, responsibility rears its ugly head, and often we’re left standing there unsure of how to approach what’s ahead. Abraham once found himself in a similar circumstance in Genesis 12:1-3. Was he ready for everything that was to come his way? Not necessarily, but he dealt with it because he trusted in God – Hebrews 11:8! What can we learn from Abraham about facing the unknown challenges in our lives?
Discussion Points:
§ Humble Yourselves – Genesis 12:4 – Abraham’s response to God’s challenging call was “he departed.” What encouraging words, to see a man called to leave everything and practically everyone he had ever known and loved and to travel hundreds of miles away on an arduous journey to a place he didn’t even know existed! It required humility. Our lives, too, must be marked by humility to be able to courageously and faithfully face the challenges that present themselves to us – 1 Peter 5:5-6.
§ Handle Your Problems – Genesis 12:4-5 – Abraham had at least two things working against him in fulfilling this command. He was 75 years old, certainly not young nor someone you would look at as being physically fit enough to endure this hardship. Likewise, he was a man of great possessions making the move that much more challenging. Yet what did Abraham do when he saw these hurdles. Did he argue? Did he try to rationalize disobedience? No, he looked at his problems dead in the eye and dealt with them. We must develop the same diligence to do what needs to be done in life regardless of how problematic they can be – Proverbs 4:23. With God’s help we can handle any problem that comes our way!
§ Hope for the Best – Genesis 12:2-3 – Abraham had a very specific verbal promise given to him by God that if he would do what He had asked then he would be blessed in an abundant manner. No doubt that promise fueled him through this turbulent time. However, while God may not speak directly to us in making promises any more He is certainly not slack concerning promises. We have a greater hope than was given to Abraham in our text awaiting us – Heaven (1 Peter 1:3-5). What greater hope could we possibly have?
Life has a way of sneaking up unsuspected at times, particularly in our youth but really throughout life. How we react can be everything? From Abraham learn an equation for sure success every time!
-Andy Brewer