City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)

⁸ By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8 (ESV

Commentary

When the Lord called Abram to leave his family and his country, He did not tell Abram where He would lead him (v. 1). The Book of Hebrews confirms this, saying Abram, “went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). What the Lord did tell Abram was that the endgame was to make Abram a blessing (v. 2), and that in him all the nations would be blessed (v. 3). Abram’s willingness to obey God and go, not knowing where he was going, was the hallmark of his faith. See Hebrews 11:8.

Jesus set before the disciples the same proposition when He told them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Jesus did not tell them where they would be going, only that in the end He would use them to bless others. 

In 2013, my wife, Cindy, and I were living in Northwest Houston and planning to build our dream home. It was going to be beautiful, about twice the size of our then current home. So, we started looking for land farther into the suburbs on which to build.

Then, as almost an afterthought, it occurred to us to ask the Lord about our plans, and after praying separately, we both heard the Lord tell us to move to downtown Houston. We knew it was the Lord because we came to it independent of one another and had never previously considered moving downtown. 

So, we began looking for a place downtown, and to our dismay learned that almost all of the homes downtown are very small. We looked for six months, until finally we felt the Lord telling us to put our house on the market, which we did. It sold the next day.

Now we were out of time, so we bought a small loft in downtown Houston. Since it was less than half the size of the home we had been living in for 17 years, we had to sell or give away much of our possessions. What we didn’t sell or give away, we put in storage.

For the next two and one-half years we lived in a three room loft at 705 Main Street. Then one day, we heard from our broker about a place a few blocks away that was not on the market, but which our broker thought the owner would sell. We approached the owner and ended up purchasing our dream home. Had we not moved to downtown Houston, we never would have discovered it. 

Application

Our story is still unfolding and while we have been blessed in the process, I know the ultimate purpose of the Lord leading us to Downtown Houston is not to bless us but to use us to bless others. 

What is your story? Has God been calling you to leave something or some place and go out in faith to follow Him? If He is, you don’t need to know where but only trust that in your obedience He will make you a blessing to others. That is the way of the Kingdom.

Prayer

Lord, please give me the faith to follow when You call, so You can make me a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.