Genesis 12:1-4, Hebrews 11:8, Genesis 13:1, Genesis 15, Proverb 13:12, Genesis 17:1, Proverbs 4:18, Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 4:20-22

Olumide Kolawole encourages us to walk before the Lord and seek encouragement and strength from Him.

Olumide Kolawole

Now the Lord said to Abraham, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.'' - Genesis 12:1-4

Here was a clear instruction given by God to Abram to leave his comfort zone, as it were, to relocate to a place not pre-defined and not known to Abram. He was to leave a place with proper structures in place in terms of support and help for seeming uncertainty. But Abram embarked on the journey holding on to faith as described in Hebrews 11:8
But not so long in the journey, the man encountered difficulty in the land due to famine (intense scarcity) in verse 10 of the same Chapter. Was it the human survival instinct, 'wisdom' or frailty, the summary is that Abraham crafted a means to stay alive. The bible account states that he 'went down' into Egypt (a place of spiritual bondage), where he was not too liberal with the truth in saying that his beautiful wife, Sarai, was his sister. Having said that, here is no intention of playing down the enormity of his predicament at the time, because it might feel lighter than life as we now look at the case retrospectively.

May we be strong and courageous at all times in Jesus' name. Amen.
Abram's plan brought temporary relief as he seemingly benefited from the largesse, but the truth became known to Pharaoh through God's affliction, and the supply ended.
It would be instructive to learn that in all the trials, God was trying to teach Abram to stay on the right path, and to walk before Him and be solely dependent on Him.
Finally in Genesis 13:1, Abram 'went up out' of Egypt to continue on his journey.
But again in Genesis 15, Abram found himself in a hopeless state of frustration (Proverb 13:12 says 'hope deferred makes the heart sick.') and God did appear to reassure him of His promises.

Albeit, it can be established from the above biblical accounts that Abraham had a relationship with God from way back, what is suggestive in Genesis 17 is God found it necessary to reintroduce Himself to Abram. There appeared to be several broken links and severed ties in the journey. And the frailty of humanity was evident and only the sufficiency of God's grace could result in a 'bail out'.
God said to Abram in Genesis 17:1, "I am God Almighty (Jehovah El Shaddai - All sufficient God), walk before me and be perfect, blameless and complete''.

It would be pertinent to highlight a few important points to help us all on our journeys, and more importantly what benefits can accrue to us when we heed the instruction to walk before the Lord.

1. Proverbs 4:18 "The path of the just is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter unto that perfect day". This is suggestive that our breakthrough shall be sudden in Jesus name. And as the light of dawn grows in intensity, so shall our good progress be by God's grace.

2. From Abram's account, on several occasions, God's word kept coming to him. God's word will not be scarce when we walk before him, and Psalm 119:105 says; "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path", meaning that His word will continually 'kit us up' while we journey ahead.

3. Proverbs 4:20-22 teaches us to be sensitive enough and listen to what God is saying as we read, search through and meditate on the Word which is sure to come as encouragement and tremendous strength on our journey as we walk before Him.

4. And finally, when you walk before the Lord, be rest assured that He has got your back!