Follow Me, I Don’t Know Where I’m Going
by Dr. Lance Wallnau
Abraham had an encounter with the living God. In this experience he was told to leave where he was and go to a place that God would show him.
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).
He had no scripture to follow, no map in hand, and no model of a religious leader before him to copy. He was the prototype for the new people of God, a people called “Hebrews”. In fact, the word Hebrew comes from the verb אבר (abar) meaning to pass over or through. The root of abar yields words that have to do with transition, usually in the sense of an upgrade.
If you are a believer you are a Hebrew. You are part of a tribe that passes over and through while transitioning into upgrades. The Bible says, “the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham…” (Acts 7:2). The God of glory has a plan to reveal Himself to you with each new upgrade in your spiritual life. God’s plan is that you go from level to level or glory-to-glory in knowing and experiencing Him.
Sometimes the change process seems slow. If you have been saved for any amount of time you can look back and note that you are not the same person you once were. Look at how far you have come. Observe how much you have already passed over and through. Note how many transitions and upgrades you have already experienced. Know that your future progress is as certain as the past.
Abraham had great faith, but he did not always have a corresponding great plan. He worked with unfolding circumstances. Let us read this verse again and note faith and strategy are not always on the same page.
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).
On the other hand, the scripture could be stated another way, “Follow me, I don’t know where I’m going”. This is the humorous aspect of faith that robs us of boasting. To know the end from the beginning with nothing but faith-filled improvisation in the middle is the essence of the Hebrew journey. Not surprisingly it is also the journey of entrepreneurs. Abraham as well as his son Isaac and grandson Jacob were entrepreneurs who well understood the paradox of faith and flexibility, or certainty in God and uncertainty in circumstance. This was to be their lot for multiple generations till finally established in their own land in Bible times, and again in 1948 when Israel became a nation and they returned.
If you met Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob you would have seen the paradox of men confident yet humble. They knew God was leading them to an inheritance but did not have a map sufficient to get there on their own. Grandpa Abraham showed them something much better than a map- a guide. If he was disadvantaged by not knowing where he was going, this was more than compensated for by the companionship of a Perfect Guide and Divine Protector going with him.
The Holy Spirit is your guide and He knows exactly where your inheritance is located. The Hebrews obtained it gradually and progressively as they crossed over and transitioned into the land they were promised. Success did not come by a master plan but by an unfolding strategy.
We are coming into the time of crossing over. As a “modern” Hebrew you are passing over and transitioning into new things. If God is in it, as He was with Abraham’s journey into the great unknown, you do not have to worry about the things you cannot figure out. They will become plain as you keep advancing. Keep looking at Jesus and commune with Him. Your place in heaven and your place of inheritance on earth will fall into perfect alignment according to His ultimate purpose.