A Scripture A Day Keeps The Devil Away

Genesis 12:5-9

"He [Abram] took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At the time, the Canaanites were in the land.) The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord. Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev." -Genesis 12:5-9

A lot to take in, I know.

God had just told Abram to leave his homeland, his relatives, and his father's house, and go to the land that He will show. Then, the Lord will bless him and make him into a great nation. So Abram does as God commanded and packs together all of his belongings along with his people and obediently sets out for Canaan.

But the point that I want to bring out here is that, if you'll notice, every time Abram pitched his tent and settled into a land for the night, he also built an altar for the Lord. As if lugging around all of his possessions and setting up his tents wasn't enough, Abram uses up what we can only imagine is the last bit of his energy to build an altar and to seek strength and rest from God.

Abram never once failed to take the Lord with him through the journey.

If we're honest, most of us would probably only think to do the two basics: (1) pray for safety and guidance before you begin your journey and (2) praise God after you've made it to your destination. But Abram leads a beautiful example that we should devote every step of the way to full trust and faith in Jesus Christ.

Through the journey.