The significance of the call

To start our first day in the Holy Land we explored the Negev Desert. First, we headed out to the ancient remains of Be’er Sheva, where Abraham ended up after God called him out of Ur. We learned about the structure of the ancient city, explored it’s water systems, and heard Biblical stories that took place in that location. Next, we traveled to Mach-tesh-ramon, or the “Super Bowl”. This was essentially an enormous canyon that once contained a great sea; it was far too huge to comprehend the depth and length of this chasm. We had a lesson at the top of a ridge, then hiked to the bottom and had a second lesson. After a quick lunch break, we traveled to Nahal-Zin and hiked through another canyon that housed a beautiful creek, many caves, and a steep and narrow stairway. Tonight we will be staying in the David Spa Hotel right on the dead sea for the next two nights.

Allison Hankins:
A few weeks before we left for this beautiful land, everyone on the trip signed up to memorize different chunks of scripture that we would recite in accordance to a lesson or location we visited. I signed up to recite the call of Abram; a very well known piece of scripture. As we were sitting in the shade of the ancient city of Be’er Sheva, the city built by Abraham, I started to recognize the significance of the call that the father of our faith received. In Genesis 12:1-9, God calls Abram to leave his country, his family, and his inheritance. Granted some cultural insight, we learned that the middle-eastern cultures value land in a unique way that differs greatly from a western mind-set. To Abraham, this meant that he had to “give up” his security, his identity, and his future. God was asking him to let go of everything he had; all this without telling him where he was going! Later in Genesis 22, we read about how God asks Abraham to give up his one and only child, Isaac. Once again, God is asking him to give up his future; something humans tend to hold tightly to and try to control. This is a difficult calling. I compare this to myself and my life; does God want control? A total and complete surrendering of my life into His hands? Yes, yes he does. And what should my response be? Abraham models the perfect response to God’s beckoning in Genesis 12:4, “and he went”. He just went. He did exactly what God requested; relinquished control of his security, identity, and future. He trusted God with everything. So now I ask, is there anything that I haven’t trusted God with? Am I willing to walk into the desert wilderness, without GPS, map, or even destination; only with my faith in God’s word? I would hope so. That’s the call we face, the call to surrender and trust.

Sarah Veldman:
The last stop today was the wilderness Nahal Zin and the canyon of Ein Avdat. As we walked through the canyon, we experienced what it was like for the Israelites to be in the desert. As I spoke the story of Numbers 20 and Moses striking the rock for water, it was very evident that the Lord is faithful no matter what. Even when the Israelites persisted in grumbling and Moses did not trust in the Lord’s provision, God still provided for His people. Standing in the bottom of Ein Avdat, I felt incredibly small and surrounded by massive amounts of desert that the Lord our God created and cares for. In fact, His eyes are on it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. The Lord is faithful, for He cannot deny Himself of who He is. He provided for the Israelites in the very desert we stood in today and He continues to provide for me no matter what desert I find myself in.