Strangers
Press In To Press On #9
Mark Geppert
Abraham had a rhema. God spoke to him through a promise. To receive that promise, Abraham had to obey the word of the Lord and take steps of faithful following to a “land of promise.” There were more promises to come; but Abraham had to first obey, then to abide.
The Lord leads us through a pathway of promises. He gives gentle nudges toward directions for our lives. It “occurs” to us that we might need to take an umbrella on a sunny day. It seems strange at the time; but when the heavens open at 3:30, we understand why. God is always demonstrating His loving care for us and establishing lines of communication and understanding so that He might lead us into life-changing situations. Step by step, He gently leads us in the school of the Spirit so that we can be receptive to “words” that will develop into ministries that reach the hearts of many, and change the course of families, communities, and nations.
Each step in Abraham’s journey reaffirmed the fact that God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Abraham learned to discern the person, presence, purpose, and power of his new covenant partner. He found that what God said He would do would come to pass. He found God faithful to His promise. He found that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways and that His word has the power to bring forth life from death. God could cause life.
You too are on a journey with Jesus. He is leading you by the Holy Spirit into the strength of His promises. He has called you to walk with Him and has separated you from the former things to walk in newness of life in Christ. Like faithful Abraham, you have found that walking God’s way is far better than the way of the world, and your desires are changing.
You are “Pressing In” to God to find the strength to “Press On” in life.
Abraham “dwelt in the land of promise” (Hebrews 11:9) as in a foreign land. Being a person of faith gives us a very different perspective on the world around us. Abraham moved into his tent of promise. And with his family, he was a stranger in a strange land. You too have moved into the promise of God in your life. The power of the promise has made all other powers seem insignificant. Political power, production power, people power, personality power, peer power, and all other powers of man have faded in the brilliance of the promise power God has put in your life. When you see the ways of man around you, it seems very futile because you have been indwelt by God’s omnipotent person, so you say, “All things are possible.”
The more you press in, the more you realize that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. With Abraham, you become fully persuaded that what God has promised, He is also able to perform. (Romands 4:20–21) You are daily gaining strength as the Lord rewards your diligent search, your quest to know Him more fully.
Abraham taught the promise to Isaac and Jacob. He followed his flocks and herds as a shepherd does. He did not put down stakes in the land; but rather, dug wells which then became centers of communication and commerce. He became the Father of Many Nations, but still sought an unseen city, the fulfillment of the desire of his heart.
Like you, the world was strange to him. You are in it, but not of it. And God is not ashamed to be called your God. (Hebrews 11:16)
Press in to press on, Mark.
