Reflections Along the Way - November

“Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6 & 7

This verse was part of our daily devotional reading recently and it was another of those moments that I (Miriam) felt it was meant for me. All of us have reason to be anxious about something(s), sometimes more than others. All of us can choose to worry or trust.

I have also recently been immersed in the story of Abram/Abraham through the Primary Sunday School lessons. In Genesis 12:1, the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Verse six simply reads, “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him. . .”

• I wonder if it was as easy as it sounds?


• Is following God’s call ever easy?


• Are the choices we have ever that easy to discern?

As the story of Abram/Abraham develops, we see he had some other choices and sometimes he made better decisions than others (i.e. having his wife, Sarai, pose as his sister; taking Hagar, Sarai’s servant, to carry a child for him). But I am also encouraged to know through following the scriptures, that Abraham was considered a man of faith and made it into the “Faith Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11). Hebrews 11 states that “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (vs. 13-16)

Abraham was a man of faith. He heard the call of God and obeyed. But he also had moments of doubt and uncertainty as to whether God would really come through for him. How wonderful that scripture records both the positive and negative—that we can see the life journey of those who have gone before—their successes and failures—and that God does not abandon us no matter what!