Ready for a transplant?

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. (Genesis 12:1, 4-5 NLT)

If God were to tell you to pick up and go, would you? Having been settled for so long in a particular job, community, and relationships - would you be able to disconnect from those things and go as he asked? It might come as a little bit of a surprise to some, but most of us would have a very hard time with this 'ask' from God, wouldn't we? Why? We have become 'rooted' in our comfort and it would be hard to 'disconnect' from that level of comfort to go into the 'discomfort' of the unknown.

The very idea of 'disconnecting' from a place of comfort is a scary thought to many. We might not have the best job, but we are comfortable doing it. We might not have the nicest house or land, but we are comfortable living as we do. We might not have the deepest of friendships with those around us, but we are comfortable with the ones we have. I learned a long, long time ago that when God disturbs our present set of circumstances, he is preparing us for something far greater than what we are 'comfortable' with right now.

God tells Abram to 'leave' - not just go on a journey. He asks him to pick up roots and allow himself to be 'transplanted' in a place totally new to him. When God tells us it is time for a 'transplant' of any area of our lives, it isn't because he wants to bring us harm. It is because he knows our roots can only grow so deep where we have become so comfortable. I have had potted plants that have become very root-bound in their small pots, only to see them flourish once I transplanted them into a larger one. God's plans may not seem like they are easy for us, but we can be sure that he has prepared the right place for us, with the right 'medium' for our growth.

When God asks us to head for our 'Canaan', will we balk at the request? When he gives us clear instructions of 'where' to go, but we don't know all the things we will encounter as we take steps toward that place, will we cower in fear or falter in disobedience? The very thing we dread the most could actually be the very thing that brings us the greatest growth in our lives. The more we falter in our disobedience, the longer it will be before we see the blessings God has prepared for us. The journey may not be clear, nor the destination without its issues, but the end result will always be the same - God's blessings. Just sayin!