An Abram Moment

Nearly 5 months ago, I heard the Lord whisper, "Come away with me."

He stretches out His mighty hand, extending it to mine. With anticipation, I grasp His hand, feeling the tightness of His fingers wrap around my hand. He knows the many times I've pulled back or wanted to run, but the strong grasp anchored me to His side.

We start to walk across the room which at one time seemed spacious and full of potential, now it seem overcrowded. I realize the broad place the Lord had once lead me years before now was completely furnished with all He wanted me to experience. Sadly, I can also recall moments of failures, sins and times I had neglected Him. There was no time to reflect as His pace didn't slow down.

We pass through an open door then down a narrow hallway, a transitional space, to connect to another room. It was nearly 14 years since I had experience such a change in my life where the familiar was left behind to reach for something unknown, uncertain and almost improbable.

Here in hall the bland, white walls seem to close in where there is no windows. Vision is limited to feeling your way down the corridor. My breathing became shallow with anxious gasps. Where are we going Lord? Why are we leaving the space in my life that has become comforting and perhaps, too predictable?

Behind me the door in the room we had left only seconds ago slowly closed, sealing us from reentering.

At the end of the hall I see threads of sunlight seeping under one of the doors. My eyes shift toward Him and then to the massive door, but I dare not release His hand to go ahead or say a word. I watch as His hand reached for the door handle and slowly He turned it. Then with a mighty force, the door groaned and began to swing open. My mouth slackened in a wide O expression and my eyes enlarged with such delight. For behind the open door was...

This is what I call an Abram moment, a time when the Lord says, "It's time to go" In Genesis 12:1 it says, "The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you." (NIV).

God will interrupt our lives with a whisper, gentle and beckoning. For those who hear and obey, their lives are forever changed. Abram's first steps outside the door of his house meant walking away from one life to enter into another life of eternal blessings. The journey with Christ requires movements and moments that only lead us heavenward.

...and there behind the door was a city on the East Coast..."Go on, my son, I have a something waiting for you in this place." And like Joshua, God promised His presence would go before him to take possession of the Promised Land (Joshua 31:7-8).

You can stay for comfort sake but only die miserably or you can go where He leads and truly live a fuller life, even if change is uncomfortable!