Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing…”  Genesis 12: 1 – 2 (NASB)

Today is the first day of my Army retirement.  It is a significant transition in my life so I am going to digress slightly from my book-by-book study of shepherds and look briefly at applicable lessons from the life of Abraham.  I don’t think it is much of a stretch to discuss Abraham’s life within the boundaries of a shepherding study.  After all, Abraham had shepherds and probably did some time shepherding his father’s flocks while growing up.

Abraham and Sarah’s fascinating story of faith begins at the end of Genesis 11 and is set somewhere around 2000 B.C.  Abram (Abraham) is 75 years old and Sarai (Sarah) is 65.  Sarah is a beautiful woman even at this age (and older), however she is beyond normal child-bearing age.  In fact, though her beauty is emphasized in the scripture, she is introduced to us in Genesis 11:30 as “…barren; she had no child” (NASB).  The record begins with Abram and Sarai living in the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent during a time of turmoil.  The Sumerians have controlled the area from their capital city of Ur (south of present day Baghdad) for over 700 years, until overthrown by the Elamites.  This in turn creates the opportunity for the descendants of Noah’s son Ham, known as Amorites, to move east and occupy the area where Abraham lives with his father Terah, near Ur.  Abraham is Aramean, one of the descendants of Noah’s son Shem.  His family appears to be nomadic, much like the Bedouins living in that part of the world today.  We are introduced to Abraham (Abram) and Sarah (Sarai) in Genesis 11:31 – 32 when Terah (Abram’s father) takes his family from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan.  After traveling approximately 600 miles they arrive at Haran and for some reason settle there (Gen 11: 31-32).  Abraham’s father, Terah, dies in Haran and Abraham becomes the family patriarch (head shepherd, if you will).

The Bible goes on to record several significant events in Abraham and Sarah’s lives.   First, Abram receives God’s Promise (Gen 12:1-9) and charge to move from Ur to Canaan.  Shortly after they arrive in Canaan a famine drives them to Egypt and Pharaoh’s court,  where Abram survives lies about his relationship to Sarai.  Next, Abram and Lot split to resolve land disputes between their herdsmen.  The split proves to be disastrous for Lot, as he is captured during a war between five kings, including Sodom and Gomorrah, on one side and four kings on the other.  Abram rescues Lot, other captured people, and their goods.  Sometime later, Abram and Sarai decide to “help” God with his promise and the debacle with Hagar and Ishmael ensues.  When Abram is 99 years old, God makes his covenant and renames both Abraham and Sarah.  Abraham and Sarah then move to Gerar, lie about their relationship again almost causing Abimelech to commit adultery.  Shortly after surviving this incident Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah and Ishmael and Hagar are banished to God’s care.  Then Abraham’s defining moment comes when he prepares to sacrifice Isaac as commanded by God.  Abraham’s faith is rewarded and Isaac is spared.

So what are the lessons from Abraham’s life that are applicable to me on my first day of military retirement?  First, God provided Abraham the same vision that is applicable to us today.  God’s vision for Abraham was if he was faithful he would be blessed and his descendants would be a blessing to others.  This same vision is consistent throughout scripture as given to David (1 Chronicles 17, 2 Samuel 7), reiterated by the prophets, and manifested in Jesus Christ.  Jesus goes on to clarify God’s vision by giving us the mission to make disciples of those God puts in our path every day.  The neat thing is God knew each Christian and each congregation would be different, with different gifts, and therefore would have to figure out our part in fulfilling our disciple-making mission.  Sometimes, just like Abraham, figuring out our role takes a leap of faith.

My leap of faith to retire, with no guarantee of a job when we (trust me, my wife had as much input to the decision as I did) made the decision pales in comparison to the leaps of faith Abraham took in his life.  Still, I took that leap of faith because I knew God has used everything in our lives to prepare us to make this decision.  Even before we took that leap of faith God blessed us with a great congregation, the honor of serving the congregation as one of their shepherds, a great place to live, a great family, and many more blessings.  Now, we are blessed with a good solid job.  God has ALWAYS provided.

Second, Abraham and Sarah embraced change.  There is no doubt Abraham and Sarah experienced several changes in their lives.  Some they handled better than others.  They did not cope with changes well when they tried to control the situation and remove God from the equation (Pharaoh, Abimelech, Hagar and Ishmael come to mind).  With regard to Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham further compounds the problem by abdicating his leadership role and giving Sarah complete control of Hagar and Ishmael’s fate.  From these examples we learn the time to delegate leadership responsibility is not in the middle of a tumultuous situation, but when things are relatively calm and more predictable.  Shepherds must also discern when their actions are a result of not trusting God and seeking to control the situation according to their understanding instead of God’s will.

On the other side of the coin, Abraham and Sarah handled some changes well.  The 300 mile trek from Haran to Canaan and then to Egypt could not have been easy, nor would it have been easy to nearly sacrifice your son.  So how were they able to do it?  One way was they relied on family.  They experienced almost every event, both good and bad, together.  Coping with change is so much easier when the fear and anxiety of the unknown is shared among both our physical and spiritual family.  We can use each other to remind us of the blessings to come when we follow God’s will.  My wife and I are very good for each other in this regard.  My fellow shepherds and ministers are also great supports, as are some members in our congregation.  Abraham and Sarah also relied on previous experiences.  The move from Haran to Canaan was probably easier to plan, prepare, and conduct because Abraham and Sarah had been through it before when moving from Ur to Haran with Abraham’s father, Terah.  We too should draw on our own experience, the experience of our seasoned members, and the experiences of other shepherds to help us cope with tumultuous times.

Most importantly, Abraham and Sarah were most successful and blessed when they relied on God and the vision (His will) He gave Abraham.  There is a saying, “the only constant is change”.  While this statement is meant to assist us in coping with change, it is patently false in light of scripture.  It would be more accurate to say the only constant is God.  Hebrews 13:5-8 is just one of many passages illustrating the constancy of God, His Word, and His Son.  The entire Bible is one long narrative of God’s plan of redemption that has not changed.  And since no two changes are exactly alike, it is an oxymoron anyway to say that change is constant (and being a retired Military Intelligence officer, I know a thing or two about oxymorons!).  Changes do constantly occur, but God is the only constant for all of them.  It is up to us on whether we will seek to discern His involvement.

So the next time you encounter a significant emotional event of change in your life, remember the lessons of Abraham and Sarah.  Let us ask ourselves how the change will fit into God’s vision and mission for us.  Let us realize God will provide and bless our decisions if they are consistent with His will.  Let us embrace the change by recognizing it is another opportunity within God’s plan, God has provided others to assist us and even experience the change with us, and recognize we cannot abdicate our responsibility to shepherd through the changes.  Finally, let us realize God is there to lead us through every change, every step of the way, if only we will allow him to do so.  If we do these things, God will bless us.

May your blessings exceed mine today and all your days. – DEM