There is something especially honest about beginning the year in Genesis. I’m standing again at the beginning of God’s story with humanity and discovering that I’m also standing at the beginning of something in my own life as well.
In these early chapters, we meet Abram, a man who is doing just fine where he is. He has family, land, history, and a future that makes sense. And then God speaks: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)
What is striking is not only the boldness of God’s call, but the lack of detail that comes with it. God doesn’t provide a map. God doesn’t outline the timeline. God doesn’t promise an easy transition or an easy journey. God simply promises presence and blessing. And Abram goes.
So often we imagine that God calls us only when we are desperate, broken, or stuck. But Scripture tells another story. Sometimes God calls us when life is good, when things are flourishing, when the path ahead feels stable and familiar. And yet, in love, God invites us to loosen our grip on what is comfortable in order to receive something deeper than comfort – trust.
Abraham’s journey reminds us that faith is not certainty about the destination; it is confidence in the One who leads. The step that matters most is not knowing where we are going but knowing who it is we are following.
As a new year unfolds, many of us may sense God’s gentle nudge – toward a new season, a new way of serving, a new act of obedience, or a new kind of faithfulness. The invitation is not to have everything figured out, but to walk forward, one faithful step at a time, trusting that God’s promises are sure even when the path is not.
May we, like Abraham, be people who trust God enough to go – believing that wherever God leads, God will also provide.