Readings for the day: Genesis 17, 18, 19
“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him!” These immortal words, spoken by British revivalist Henry Varley at a tent meeting one night in Dublin, Ireland, ignited a fire in a young man named D.L. Moody that wouldn’t stop raging until two continents had heard the gospel and over a million souls come to Christ. It’s one of my all-time favorite quotes and it describes Abram perfectly.
Just consider the life of this great man. He was the youngest of three brothers but first in pre-eminence. He lived the first seventy years of his life in Ur where he worshipped idols. (Joshua 24:2) God appeared to him during that time and called Abram to take his first steps of faith. (Acts 7:2) “Leave Ur”, God said, “And go to the place I will show you.” And Abram went. He lands in Haran for five years where he loses his father. His brother stays behind. At age 75, Abram leaves Haran for the place God had yet to show him, eventually coming to Canaan. There he experiences famine, danger, violence, conflict. He gets caught up in tribal wars and meets kings. He amasses his wealth and possessions and influence. He builds altars and worships God. He struggles with his family, having to separate from his nephew and mediate a conflict between his wife and her servant. At age 86, he fathers his first child Ishmael. He receives a new name at age 99. He also gets circumcised! He observes the complete and total destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities he knew with people he loved like Lot and his family whom Abram (now Abraham) never saw again.
What drives a man to live such a life? Faith. Complete surrender to God. Throughout the course of his life, Abraham received all kinds of promises from God. The Promised Land. Innumerable offspring. Blessings untold. A lot of which would not happen in his lifetime. Not that it mattered all that much because according to Hebrews 11:10, Abraham had his eyes set on a much greater prize. “To the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
So I take issue with Henry Varley. As much as I like his quote and as much as I love D.L. Moody. The fact is the world HAS seen what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him. All one has to do is look at the life of Abraham. And when you look, look closely. It’s not a perfect life. It’s not a safe life. It’s not an easy life. Abraham is given far more than he can ever handle. He is pushed further than he himself would ever choose to go. God never stops demanding, never stops commanding. And he just keeps walking by faith. Putting one faltering foot in front of the other. Over the course of a lifetime, Abraham learns to trust God. He builds a deep relationship with God. He is called God’s “friend” (James 2:23) and the father of God’s chosen people. (Psalm 105:6)
Friends, all of “creation is waiting with eager longing for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God.” (Romans 8:19) The world doesn’t need perfect people. The world doesn’t need safe people. The world doesn’t need rich and powerful people. What this world needs are men and women, young and old, from every tribe, tongue and nation who will dedicate every waking hour of every day to the advancement of God’s Kingdom on this earth! Are you such a person? Do you want to be such a person? Then claim this promise from 2 Chronicles 16:9 for your own, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” Believe Him! And trust in His grace, love and power!