Listen

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out without knowing where he was going.

By faith he lived in the land he had been promised as a stranger. He lived in tents along with Isaac and Jacob, who were coheirs of the same promise. He was looking forward to a city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:8-10

Think

Abraham’s life was filled with questions, uncertainty, and mysteries — but it was also filled with faith. Abraham left his home, without a known destination. He was promised a homeland for his descendants, but Abraham himself never found a permanent place to live. Despite all the unknowns, Abraham continued to follow God. He was looking forward to the future, trusting that God would care for him, and trusting that God’s promises would prove to be true.

The ability to face the future with hope is a key part of a living faith. Life is full of uncertainty and confusion; there is no way of knowing what the future holds. But a living faith gives us the ability to journey into that unknown future with hope — what the Quaker author Thomas Kelly calls “walking with a smile into the dark.” We may not know what will happen to us on our journey (and like Abraham, we may not even know where we are going!), but we journey with a God whom we can hope in.

Andrew Garnett

Pray

God, I do not know what the future holds — but give me the faith to face it with hope, trusting in you. Amen.

Go

Go today with a faith that is alive to the presence and the possibilities of God.