Choosing Faith When the Circumstances Seem Impossible
Feeling stuck? Thoughts of your past taking up too much space in your mind? Previously, I wrote about how the Lord had revealed to me that my spiritual anchor point idea was a lot like when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all built altars to God to signify anchor moments in their journey.
Together let's explore each time Abraham built an altar to God, looking closer at what happened before and after the altar was built, and the possible significance of each altar. Let's also consider how this connects to the idea of leaving our past in the past.
But first, here are three notable events that I found helpful as I tried to understand Abraham's life better.
Terah, Abram's father, moves the family from Ur to Canaan, but when they came to Haran (about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur), they settled there instead. Why?
Genesis Chapter 11 details the generations of Shem, Noah's son. If you map out the years in which each generation lived, it is likely that Noah (who lived 950 years) and seven of the nine generations between him and Abraham are still alive when Abraham is born. Abraham is the 10th generation descendant of Noah.
God promised/revealed to Abraham seven times that he would give him offspring before Isaac is born. Each time God provides slightly more detail. Abram (Abraham) builds three altars (not counting the altar he built to sacrifice Isaac on).
Altar #1 - Choosing Faith When the Circumstances Seem Impossible
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, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 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." Genesis 12:5-7 ESV
Why was Abram obedient to God's call at the beginning of chapter 12? He received instructions from God to leave everything, and his reward would be a blessing for many generations. One big problem. We already learned that his wife is barren and can't have children (Gen. 11:30).
Why did Abram build an altar when he arrived in Canaan? Perhaps he was just so in awe of God and the significance of God moving him to Canaan? The very place his father Terah had initially set out to move to. Perhaps he was so excited by God's promise to give him an offspring?
Altar #2 - Returning to a Place of Familiarity
"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. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb." Genesis 12:8-9 ESV
It is unclear why Abram built a second altar after journeying to the hill country or why he continued to travel on toward the Negeb. Soon after, there is a famine in the land, and he is forced to go to Egypt for food. Abram returns to Altar #2 "He moved on from the Negev, camping along the way, to Bethel, the place he had first set up his tent between Bethel and Ai and built his first altar. Abram prayed there to GOD." Genesis 13:3-4 MSG
What we do know is that Abram returns to altar #2 after returning from Egypt. While in Egypt, Abraham gets kicked out of the country for lying to the Pharaoh about Sarai's true identity (he told Pharaoh that she was his sister). To me, it makes sense that he returns to something familiar to him. When he arrives at the altar, he prays to God.
Altar #3 - God Reveals More Details
"The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord." Genesis 13:14-18 ESV
This is the second time God promises to give Abram offspring. This time he doesn't just promise Abram offspring, but he reveals to Abram that his offspring will be so great that it will be like the dust of the earth, which can't be counted.
What can we learn from Abraham’s story?
Below are four takeaways that I see from Abraham's altar experiences that we can apply to our lives. It is not a matter of If we will get spiritually stuck. We will get stuck, and knowing how to get unstuck is vital to our spiritual growth. Identifying our unique anchor point(s) or spiritual reset button can go a long way to helping us get back on track.
Getting unstuck in the present, leaving the past in the past and unlocking the future
A place to go back to (an Anchor point) where you and I had a life-changing encounter with God
A way to get back on track by backtracking to the last point of significant connection with God
Finding freedom to move forward by letting go of regret from past sin
Sample Prayer
Thank you, God, for the life of your servant Abraham. Thank you for the many anchor points you orchestrated in his life that we can learn from. Please help me to step into the unique call you have placed on my life, even when the circumstances don't make sense. As we journey together, if I get lost along the way, please help me to look back on the anchor points in my life that can lead me back to your presence.
Featured Music
TobyMac - Get Back Up
This song brings hope and encouragement for those times in life when we feel stuck. "We lose our way/ we get back up again/ It's never too late to get back up again/ And one day you will shine again/ You may be knocked down but not out forever."
About the Author
Nathan Miller
You may know me as a husband, father, son, brother, friend, mentor, ultra marathoner runner, NBA basketball enthusiast, fan of all things tech, music lover and writer. However, the life blood that flows through everything that I strive to be comes from a desire for greater intimacy with Jesus Christ. He is my Savior, my Provider, my Lord and most of all my best friend.