He came bursting through the door barely able to get his words out.  All she could decipher at first were the words, “We’re leaving!”  Running from room to room, he scanned each one quickly determining what would be taken and what would be left behind.  She could barely keep up to him and had an even harder time comprehending what he was telling her.  She had never seen such joy and excitement on her husband’s face.  Finally her husband, Abraham, turned to her and said, “Sarah, I met God today – the living God.  He promised great blessings, unbelievable blessings.  And one of the most incredible blessings is that from us―from you and me― will come a great nation.  Do you know what that means?  It means God is promising that we will have a son.  A son!

This was the one thing in life that Sarah longed for.  In her culture, a woman’s worth was based on the ability to bear a son, an heir for her husband, and Sarah had long lived with the stigma of barrenness.  No matter what joys of life she experienced, they were always dampened by her desire for a child, a son. I think Sarah must have started pulling clothes out of drawers, emptying every closet.  Most likely she called the realtor and scheduled a yard sale.  Oh, how she wanted a child!

Yet in the midst of the excitement, at some point, she must have asked Abraham this question, “I’m willing to leave, but where are we going?  What’s the plan?”

His response: “God wants us to go to the land that he will show us.”

“So what did he show you?

“He didn’t show me.  He just said he would show me.”

Now imagine your reaction to that plan!  You’re leaving but you don’t know exactly where you’re going!

God knew where he was going to lead Abraham and Sarah.  It wasn’t as if God was making up the plan as they went along. He could have easily said to Abraham, “Leave your homeland and go to the land of Canaan.”  So why didn’t God give them the details up front.  Why not tell them exactly where they were going?  Why didn’t he put a detailed plan in their hand?

Because from the very beginning of their relationship with God, he was teaching them to rely on him for direction, to allow God to direct their steps.  He was teaching them that they didn’t need to have all the details upfront. What they needed was to engage in their relationship with God, continually drawing upon him for guidance, being obedient in the present as God led them to their future.

And the same is true for us today. God has a divine plan for each of us, yet he doesn’t provide us with all of the details of that plan in advance. Like with Abraham and Sarah, God wants us to engage in our relationship with him today― to learn to know his voice and be instructed by his wisdom. And, as we learn to be obedient in the present he, too, will lead us to an amazing future.