Genesis 12:1  “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” (NLT)

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There was an automobile commercial back in 1998 for the Isuzu Rodeo where a whispered voice said to the driver, “Go farther.” The driver does just that and experiences increasing adventures as the voice continues telling him to “Go farther.” The last moments of the ad show the driver and the car on a raft about to go over a waterfall. The voice says, “Too far.”

God told Abraham to “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” We see Abe’s response in verse 4:

So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In a Go-Farther moment, we find Abraham’s next steps in verse 8:

After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east.
There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD.
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In verse 10, we see the Too-Far moment:

At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner.
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Not only did he wander off the map God had given him, he also told his wife to say that she was his sister. You can see how that worked out as you read on down the page. The bottom line has Pharaoh sending Not-So-Honest Abe with an escort out of his country back in the direction from which he came. 

Chapter 13 shows us how he arrived back where he had been before (verse 3). Then Abe and his nephew Lot split because the land could not support both of them with their flocks and herds. Lot took the pathway of abundance. (See verses 10-12.)

God then gave Abraham his next set of directions in verse 17: 

“Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre.
There he built another altar to the LORD.
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Property rich, Abraham still did not have the second part of the equation God had promised years before when he told Abraham to start walking. Genesis 12:2 says, 

“I will make you into a great nation.
I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One man is not a nation, no matter how self-important he is. An aging man with an aging wife is not likely to become the father of a multitude, at least not in the ordinary way. When Abraham brought this up to God, God invited him out into the cool of the evening under the starry sky. 

“Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can.
That’s how many descendants you will have!”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The good part is found in verse 6:

And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭15‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

To hear and obey God is life’s most important lesson. To trust God no matter what he says is the step of faith that makes all seeming impossibilities possible. 

What is God saying to you today?

What would it look like for you to respond in faith? 

Where will trusting God take you that nobody and nothing else can?

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I will hear and obey God and follow wherever he leads.

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Our Father, show me the way I should go for to you I lift up my soul (Psalm 143:8 NIV 1984). Lead me, direct me, redirect me as often as necessary. I want to be where you want me to be when you want me to be there. Amen.