Genesis 12:4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. 10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
Abram had received clear direction from God of what he was to do. So he obeyed and set out on this journey. But it wasn't long before the detours began. In fact, his life became a zigzag pattern. It was no direct line to the land, nor to the promise of God to make him a great people. He waited years for a son. The same story is repeated over and over in scripture, with the other patriarchs, the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness, then trying to take the Promised Land. The Kingdom had a very shaky start and rough ride. Christ Himself walked no easy road. But if we step back to see the big picture, there are the happy endings, the goals reached, the dreams a reality, if we do not lose heart. We can and should expect God to keep His promises, but not expect the journey to be an easy, and always pleasant, three-hour tour.
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