Finding your adventurous faith

Remember the song "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf. "Heading out on the highway, looking for adventure, whatever comes your way, you were born to be wild." Nearly anytime someone in a movie, TV shows or commercial takes off and does something adventurous, the soundtrack starts. For many of us, just the guitar introduction stirs a restless and rebellious spirit within. Maybe that is because we were created for the wild, designed to explore and discover, and formed for more a faith of risk and adventure over safety and security.

The Lord called Abram to go from his home country, his father's home, to the land he would show him. He was to leave everything, and everyone he had knows embracing the promises of God. Guarantees that Abram, a childless man whose name means father of many, was to be made into a great nation, that his name would be great so he would, in turn, be a blessing to the world (Gen. 12:1-3). Abram could have missed this blessing if it were not for one word; obedience.

Abram's obedience reminds us that while God is good, he is not safe. While God does promise blessings, a future, and a hope, He often does so through the struggles we go through. Adventurous faith challenges us to remember that obedience in the process of getting to the promise is just as important as the promise itself. Faith, like Abram's, says go, and I will show you where. The only certainty you have is that I am leading you. This is the adventurous faith you are looking for.

Yet, we do not like faith that comes with risk. We want the God who is safe, not stretching. The God who secures without requiring us to defend. The God who will only bless, only gives, who has a future and a hope that demands nothing from us.

When we make God safe, we actually miss the heart of God. A safe God keeps you at home. With a safe God, you'll never stare down giants. With a safe God, instead of building an ark, you open an umbrella. Safety is a shallow substitute for faith. We can worship the security the Lord gives and miss God.

Abram obeyed when he could not see where he was going. Abram obeyed when the promise of God was ridiculously unrealistic. Obedience is always greater than security.