Believing God in the Face of Uncertainty
In Genesis 12:1, God’s command to Abram is both straightforward and staggering: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” This divine call is a pivotal moment in redemptive history, demonstrating what it means to believe God in the face of uncertainty, discomfort, and paradox.
In Abram’s response, we see a profound example of faith in action, one that challenges the worldly mindset and invites us to embrace the upside-down nature of God’s Kingdom. To better grasp this call, let’s explore its application through three lenses: The World vs. the Kingdom’s Perspective, The Paradox Explained, and Living the Paradox and Acting Accordingly.
The World vs. the Kingdom’s Perspective
From the world’s perspective, Abram’s call seems illogical. Who leaves everything familiar—home, family, security—for an unknown destination based solely on a promise? The world values certainty, self-sufficiency, and calculated risk, shaping decisions around visible outcomes and tangible rewards. By these standards, Abram’s obedience would appear reckless or naive. After all, to abandon one’s roots and follow an unseen God to an unnamed land defies every principle of worldly wisdom.
The Kingdom of God, however, operates on entirely different principles. Faith, not sight, is its currency (2 Corinthians 5:7). God’s promises often demand a surrender of human reasoning and a willingness to trust Him in the unseen. In calling Abram, God was not simply relocating him geographically but reorienting his heart to depend fully on divine provision and purpose. The Kingdom’s perspective reveals that what seems foolish in the eyes of the world is the very pathway to experiencing God’s power and faithfulness (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
In calling Abram, God was not simply relocating him geographically but reorienting his heart to depend fully on divine provision and purpose.
For believers today, the tension remains. Do we prioritize the comfort and logic of worldly wisdom, or do we embrace the radical trust required to walk in obedience to God’s call? The answer reveals where our allegiance lies—whether in the visible securities of the world or in the unseen promises of the Kingdom.
The Paradox Explained
The paradox of Abram’s call lies in the apparent contradiction between what God demands and what He promises. On one hand, God asks Abram to leave behind his country, kindred, and father’s house—the very sources of identity, stability, and provision in the ancient world. On the other hand, He promises blessings beyond comprehension: to make Abram into a great nation, to bless him, and to make him a blessing to all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:2-3).
The paradox deepens when we consider that God’s promises were far from immediate. Abram left Haran without a roadmap or timeline, and it would be years before he saw even a glimpse of their fulfillment. Yet, this is precisely how the Kingdom works. God’s call often requires letting go of tangible certainties to receive intangible, eternal rewards.
This tension is echoed in the teachings of Jesus, who invites His followers to embrace a life of paradox: losing one’s life to find it (Matthew 16:25), becoming great by serving others (Matthew 23:11), and inheriting the Kingdom by becoming like a child (Matthew 18:3). The paradox of faith is that what seems like loss to the world is gain in God’s economy.
Abram’s journey reminds us that God’s promises are always reliable, even when the pathway appears uncertain. The key to navigating this paradox is trust—believing that the God who calls us out of the familiar is also the God who goes before us to fulfill His purposes.
Living the Paradox and Acting Accordingly
To live in the upside-down Kingdom is to embrace the paradox of faith in daily life. For Abram, this meant physical movement—he packed up his life and went to an unknown land. For us, the call may manifest differently but demands the same heart posture of surrender and trust.
Believing God’s promises even when they seem humanly impossible
In moments of adversity, when the circumstances around us contradict His word, we are faced with a choice: to cling to what we see or to trust what God has said. As Hebrews 11:8 reminds us, “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.” This kind of obedience requires relinquishing control and trusting God to guide our steps.
Responding to uncertainty with faith-filled action
Abram did not wait for every detail to be clarified before he obeyed. He moved forward in faith, trusting God to reveal the next step in His timing. Similarly, when God calls us into the unknown—whether to a new ministry, a step of reconciliation, or an act of generosity—we must respond with the same willingness to move forward, even when the outcome is unclear.
Aligning our lives with God’s purposes, not our own.
Abram’s obedience was not just about his personal blessing; it was about becoming a channel of blessing for others. In the same way, our obedience is meant to extend beyond ourselves, allowing God to use us to bless those around us and advance His Kingdom purposes.
Conclusion
The call to “go” in Genesis 12:1 is not just Abram’s story; it is our story. In calling us to Himself, God invites us into a life that defies worldly logic but is rich in Kingdom purpose. To believe God is to trust Him in the paradox—to let go of the familiar and step into the unknown, confident that His promises are true.
In a world that prizes control, comfort, and certainty, God’s call challenges us to embrace the upside-down Kingdom, where faith takes precedence over sight, and obedience leads to blessing. The question remains: will we believe God enough to go where He leads, trusting that His ways are higher and His plans are greater? Let us, like Abram, respond with faith-filled obedience, stepping into the fullness of God’s promises and becoming a blessing to the world around us.
God’s call challenges us to embrace the upside-down Kingdom, where faith takes precedence over sight, and obedience leads to blessing.