Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Tom Gordon
“God said to Abram, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans.’” Genesis 15:7 (NIV)
Backwards
I’ve always struggled with the call of Abram. Oh, sorry, not “the call” as such. After all, God and Abram were close. God speaks, he responds. God clarifies, he trusts. God calls, he believes. And I know what that’s like: a call to ministry; a call to change parishes; a call to hospice chaplaincy. If I journey with God, in prayer, study, reflection, then I, too, can work with God promptings. So I understand Abram’s call.
But I still struggle with this man’s response. To up sticks and go because God says so is one thing. But to take off when you still have so many questions is quite another. There he is (in Genesis 12) in Ur of the Chaldeans, contented, settled, obedient and God-fearing. Yet, when God calls, he’s not best pleased! He has questions, doubts, uncertainties. But … he goes. No plans. No timeline. No destination. No end-point. Was that man unhinged, or what? It’s not the way things are done … And even when he gets to where he’s supposed to be, he’s still not sure.
See! I told you! The man was daft setting off like that. He’d have been better staying where he was, living with what he knew, struggles and all. For now, he doesn’t know where he is, and he’s still uncertain. It’s a double-whammy!
Then … God speaks to him again. Phew!
But, blow me, God doesn’t say, “Here’s the blueprint, the clarity you need.” No! God says, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans.” I know it’s tough, my friend. I understand your uncertainties. I know you’re scared because there’s no blinding revelation. So, all I ask is that you look back. Didn’t you know me back in Ur of the Chaldeans? Didn’t you trust me then? Don’t you remember me being with you? Well then, if I was there, won’t I be here? If I’m here, won’t I be out there, even in the unknown?
Look backwards, Abram, and see, and know, and remember, and trust. Got that? Good! So, now turn around and look ahead. And though it may be no clearer, just remember that you’re still on that journey with me, and I’m still the same God I’ve always been. After all, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans.”
Shall we pray?
Loving God, I’m desperate to see what’s ahead of me. And, because I don’t know, and it’s not getting any clearer. I get scared. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. I don’t like “not knowing”. So, remind me of what you have been for me. Help me look back and remember your goodness. Then turn me around to face the unknown, with your blessed assurance – that you will be with me, just as you’ve been before. Amen.
Tom Gordon is a retired Church of Scotland minister living in East Lothian. He was minister in two parishes for 20 years and was chaplain at a Marie Curie hospice for fifteen. He now writes, and continues to offer bereavement support.
Thinking it through:
In our impatience to know – and understand – what the future might hold, do we give ourselves time to pause and see where we’ve come from?
We know we can’t always be in control, and that reaching out into the unknown is a “faith thing”, as it was for Abram. But, how do we “let go” of our anxieties and believe in the constancy of God?
As we look back, where are the signs of God at work, and what reassurances do they give us for our journey forward?