By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11: 8

There is an old hymn entitled, “Trust and Obey” we used to sing in church when I was younger –

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

I imagine that A.W. Tower had this song in mind when he wrote “it is not just trust; it is not just obey. It is trust and obey.”

And with that in mind, let’s consider the account of Abraham.  Surely he failed often, but can you imagine being in Abraham’s shoes? Can you imagine what it meant to head out in some unknown direction, not knowing where you are going?

Abraham did more than say he trusted God. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness—and he was called a friend of God” (James 2: 23).

Abraham had his faults. He struggled telling the truth from time to time.  And who can forget his tryst with Hagar? If we focus on the failure, we miss the point of Abraham’s life. 

Not one of us has lived a life free of mistakes, but it is not our mistakes that will define us, if we will believe God.