Faith Goes Where God Directs

“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents … for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10).

How would you feel if God told you to leave behind almost everything you’ve ever known and move to a place you’ve never even seen? Some 4,000 years ago, that’s exactly what God told Abraham. “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Most of us would probably find this quite difficult. But Abraham obeyed, “…and he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

Abraham lived as a nomadic herdsman in the land of Canaan. He earned the respect of the Canaanite people (cf. Genesis 23), but he recognized himself as a stranger among them. Yet Abraham was content with alien status. He trusted in God’s promise to give him the land (Genesis 13:14f) even though he did not live to see that promise’s ultimate fulfillment. He did so because he recognized that his very life on earth was also a sojourn in a foreign land. “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own … But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:13-16).

Abraham went where God directed, even when it meant personal sacrifice. So do all those who in Christ are “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). Think of what Paul, a prominent Pharisee and persecutor of the church, had to give up when he became a Christian. Yet he wrote, “…whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7). Many have left behind all they ever knew in order to follow Christ. Some have given up careers, long-held habits and beliefs, and even family relationships, “in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus” (verse 8).

Can I just as willingly let God lead me? By faith, I can. Faith recognizes that I, like Abraham, am a stranger and alien in this world (1 Peter 2:11). My citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and so my heart and mind are set on things above (Colossians 3:2).

Remembering our true home brings a refreshing perspective on life. Every earthly decision becomes simpler when viewed spiritually. Will we go where God directs? That is, will we base our choices on God’s will or our own wants? Whether we are choosing a career or a set of clothes, a congregation or a marriage partner, we should always ask, “Which choice will get me where God wants me to go?”

Like Abraham, choosing God’s way may involve sacrifices. But we’re doing it to get home! Faith goes where God sends, knowing that the destination is heaven. “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16).

Faith Obeys Completely

“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became and heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7).

God told Noah that He would bring destruction on “all flesh” (Genesis 6:13). He instructed Noah to build an ark as the means of deliverance from the great flood He would send on the earth.

It may have been hard for Noah to envision such a thing. A flood big enough to destroy all life? Would God really do that? Yet because God promised it, Noah took up his divinely given task of preparation. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did” (Genesis 6:22).

God gave detailed instructions about the ark and its cargo. Some of them seem to defy common sense. An ark how big—with just one window? Two of every animal? And only one door to load them? Noah could have made any number of changes. But would a modified ark have survived the flood? Instead of innovation, Noah chose obedience. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.”

When God gives us instructions, there is always the temptation to alter them. God warned Israel, “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 4:2). The book of Revelation ends with similar words (22:18-19). Despite such warnings, men have tampered with God’s commands in every area—worship, family life, even the plan of salvation. Often it happens because we have trouble seeing why God wants us to do a particular thing or do it a particular way. But a faith like Noah’s obeys even when it cannot see.

Noah could have balked at the size of the job—a job that God evidently gave him 120 years to complete (see Genesis 6:3). No power tools, no precut lumber, and precious little help. As the months and years dragged by, there were surely times Noah wanted to give up. But how else would anyone—or anything—be saved? Noah had a mandate from God! So instead of losing heart, he persevered. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.”

Who would deny that the duties we have as Jesus’ disciples sometimes seem too big for us? Raising godly children, teaching the lost, even overcoming temptations—they can seem impossible. And if we faced them alone, they would be. But we are not alone. Like Noah, we must trust in the strength of the invisible God. “The things impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear” (Hebrews 13:6). “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Peter calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), which suggests that Noah made efforts to warn his neighbors about the coming judgment from God. Perhaps some were curious or even interested at first. But as time passed, many would have lost confidence in Noah’s inspired promise of coming judgment. In the end, only Noah’s immediate family had faith enough to board the ark. Thus Noah “condemned the world” by doing as God had commanded him.

Once again, God has promised to “judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31). But people disbelieve what they cannot see. And so, as in Noah’s day, many will be unprepared when judgment comes. Let us have faith that God will keep His promise. Let us be “preachers of righteousness” and prepare others for eternity. “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14).

Faith Walks With God

“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God” (Hebrews 11:5).

Genesis gives this brief summary of Enoch’s life: “So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:23-24).

Various translations describe Enoch as being “trans­lated,” “changed,” “taken up,” or “taken away.” He was received into glory without experiencing death. This was an exceptional privilege indeed. Enoch’s faith allowed him to avoid the corruption of the grave. The only other people to be “taken up” were the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 2) and the resurrected Jesus Christ (Acts 1:9-10). This is also the promise to those Christians who are alive at Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

But as with Enoch, that experience is reserved for those who walk with God. We are not to conclude that Enoch was sinless, but that his life was consistently godly. And so it should be with us. The New Testament epistles are filled with admonitions for Christians to “walk” with God as Enoch did. Jesus’ disciples “do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Sprit” (Romans 8:1,4). We are to walk in good works, in a manner worthy of our calling as Christians (Ephesians 2:10; 4:1). We are to walk after the teaching and exam­ple of Christ (1 John 2:6; 2 John 6) and His apostles (Philippians 3:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:1).

Faith follows God’s instructions, even in the small things. Even when it can’t see where it’s going or why, it holds God’s hand and lets Him lead. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Faith Worships God Acceptably

“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).

Abel’s story of faith comes from the early morning of human history (Genesis 4). Abel and his older brother Cain came to offer sacrifices to God. Cain brought an offering of “the fruit of the ground,” while Abel’s offering was “of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions” (verses 3-4). God “had regard for” (i.e., accepted) Abel and his offering, but not Cain and his offering (verses 4-5).

Why did God accept Abel’s worship and reject Cain’s? It surely was not on a whim, nor was it personal favoritism (see Acts 10:34). No, Abel offered a better sacrifice “by faith.” As we saw already, faith is produced by divine testimony—the word of God (see Romans 10:17). We can only conclude, then, that God had given some commandment concerning these sacrifices. Abel obeyed and Cain didn’t! Abel’s faithful obedience provided “testimony that he was righteous.” John confirms that Cain’s deeds were evil, while his brother’s were righteous (1 John 3:12). As God afterward said to Cain, “If you do well, you will be accepted” (Genesis 4:6).

Perhaps God’s instruction to Cain and Abel concerned what the offering was to be or how it was to be made. When God says what He wants in worship, we are not free to ad lib. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, perished after they offered “profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them” (Leviticus 10:1-2). God explained, “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy” (verse 3). Worship is about glorifying our Creator, not pleasing our own physical or emotional senses. Faith honors God’s holiness and is content to worship as He directs.

Some think Cain’s failure was in his attitude. God has always sought worship from a sincere heart and mind. Paul stressed this in discussing the Lord’s Supper: “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself…For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). He said, “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also” (14:15). All of our worship should be with the same heartfelt purpose. Daydreaming, napping, passing notes or playing with babies during worship is not the response of faith. Faith treats worship not as a ritual performance, but as an outpouring of the soul to Almighty God.

Cain was moved by jealous anger to murder Abel (Genesis 4:5-8). Was this typical of Cain’s character? The text does not say. But Scripture shows that when we disregard God’s commands in everyday life, He will reject our worship. God said to Judah, “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods…then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations?” (Jeremiah 7:9-10). Even unresolved personal conflicts can hinder our worship (Matthew 5:23-24). God has no delight in the praises and prayers of unrepentant people. Faith seeks to worship God with “clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:4).

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). By faith, righteous Abel did just that. And so must we.