Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, YHWH appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty, walk before Me, and be blameless.” Genesis 17:1

Walk – Oswald Chambers knew the Lord.  His insights continue to challenge believers decades after his death.  One of his great concerns was the call to humility.  As he put it, “None of us would be obscure spiritually if we could help it.”[1] Chambers recognized that we are called to the ordinary.  We are assigned the task of manifesting God’s character and actions in the dregs of life.  Occasionally God surprises us with a visit, a vision or a vantage point that reveals His artistry.  But we were not made to maintain the occasional.  We were made to work out our salvation and work in His grace in the common and ordinary, in the in-between.

Thirteen years passed between Abram’s encounters with God.  Thirteen years of dealing with Sarai, Hagar, Ishmael, a broken marriage, a dysfunctional family and all the relationship mismanagement issues.  Thirteen years of wandering, hoping, trusting – and walking – without a word from YHWH.  Would we have been so faithful?  Probably not.  That’s why God chose Abram, and not us.  We would have complained about a lack of direction, about unanswered prayers, about uninspired Scripture reading, about the general, boring routine of life.  We would have gone to spiritual retreats, prayer conferences, healing services and revival meetings in order to recapture those moments on the mountain.  We would have pined for the heights when God was so real we felt His breath.  But most of all, we would think there was something wrong about our relationship with Him during thirteen years of silence.

Abram knew better.  Thirteen years of walking.  The words that governed his life were perseverance, trust, faithfulness and humility.  No man commands God to appear whenever he wishes.  But every man is called to live according to the God who sometimes appears.  The watchword of Abram’s life needs to be the watchword of your lives: duty.

Torah is not given so that we may ascend the hill of heaven.  Torah is given so that we may follow the path of perseverance when the hill of heaven is completely obscured from our vision.  Torah is instruction in daily duties.  Torah is “one foot in front of the other” living while we wait for His arrival.

Have you entertained silence as the hallmark of your duty to God?  Or have you complained that God should once more carry you to lofty vistas?  Are you good in the grit or do you languish without luminosity?  How many years will you walk while waiting?

Topical Index:  walk, duty, Oswald Chambers, Genesis 17:1

NOTE:  Thank you each for wishing me a happy birthday yesterday.  I really appreciated not getting lost in the Mother’s Day celebration.